When it's all Over
by TamoraSky
Summary: He wasn't supposed to come home and when he did, he realized he had no future to return to. Finding it hard to readjust to life he finds a support in a young women in a very similar position. Together they both try to readjust to civilian life and move forward from the trauma and life of war. AU: Post World War II.
1. A long way from Home

August 15, 1945

Okinawa.

A flare rises up into the air as an intoxicated man yells out in victory. In the midst of the celebration a bonfire burned bright, lighting up the majority of the beach. The marine sits away from the party, taking in the moment. His friend approaches, a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

"Hey you old pirate, why don't you come join us?"

"I will, I just…" The marine trails off, staring at the ocean. The other man takes a seat next to his friend, handing over the bottle of whiskey to the private.

"So what now huh?"

"Who the hell knows." The marine says, taking a drink of whiskey and lighting up a cigarette.

"Go back home? Continue on with our lives?" His friend asks

"I don't think it will be that simple Lando."

"You know what will be the first thing I do when I get home?" Lando asks, taking the bottle of whiskey back.

"What?"

"I'm gonna have a long hot shower, then call up the prettiest girl in town and take her out." He sighs just thinking about it.

"Please, the only woman who you could get to go out with you is your mother." The marine laughs, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Yea, you laugh now. But I promise you, you won't be laughing in a few months when I have a gorgeous girl on my arm and your still living in that same old shack with Chewie." Lando chuckles, making the other man shake his head. "But, you must have a girl waiting for you back home."

"Nah, I don't have a girl, no home, and no plans." He responds, laying onto his back to look up at the stars; beginning to wonder what the hell he was going to do when he returned state side because at this point Han Solo had no future.

 **Authors note: Thanks for reading, there is more to come and chapters will be longer than this one, I just figured this would be a good way to kick off my new story.**


	2. Just for Now

She sneaks in through the kitchen door, her feet aching from running barefoot on the dry grass. She pauses as she hears footsteps; not realizing it was the housekeeper.

"Oh, Moira. I thought you were mother." The young woman sighs in relief, placing a bundle of Lilacs onto the table.

"What are you doing down here?" The older woman asks raising her eyebrow at the younger woman.

"Went into the garden barefoot and didn't want to get caught. Is there a vase I could put these in?" She asks, changing the subject.

"Of course." Moira shakes her head and reaches to a shelf, containing the vases. She grabs a crystal vase and hands it over.

"Thanks Moira." She says, taking the vase from the housekeeper and fills it up with water.

"Leia, remember to cut the steams off."

"Of course, would I ever forget?" She asks, bringing the vase to the table. She looks for a sharp object near to her, spotting a knife. She grabs the knife and saws off the ends. "There, all done." She smiles to herself, putting the jagged edged Lilacs into the vase.

The older woman shakes her head as Leia pushes past to upstairs. She heads for the dining area, placing the flowers onto the large oak table.

"Lelia!" She hears her mother yell out.

"I'm in the dining room." She calls back, centering the vase to the middle of the table. Leia hears her mother enter the room by the sound of her heels taping against the hardwood flooring.

"Oh, Lelia. Those are beautiful. Did you get them yourself?"

"I did. I was out reading and decided to pick a few for you."

"That was very thoughtful of you." Breha smiles and kisses her daughter's cheek. "Did you go in your barefeet again?"

"Of course not." Leia lies out of politeness, knowing her mother has already noticed.

"Go and wash them. Your aunts will be here any minute." Breha chuckles.

"Maybe, I shouldn't have come back at all." Leia jokes, making her way up the stairs.

She fills the tub to her ankles as she balances on the rounded side of the tub.

She was dreading tonight, men surrounding her to tell her about their exploits while deployed overseas. Having them tell her that her service was less important than theirs because of her sex. She had learned very shortly upon returning home men only cared about other men's experience in the war and not her own.

She pulls her feet out of the tub, deciding her feet were going to be as clean as they would get. She dries her them off before heading back downstairs, trying to sneak into her father's office before being noticed by her aunts. She hears their voices as she sneaks down the stairs.

"What do you mean you do not know what she'll wear?" The eldest sister, Rogue questions.

"She has not discussed it with me, so I have not asked." Breha responds.

"She won't wear her uniform will she?" The middle sister, Celly asks.

"I hope not, they are so ugly." Rogue states.

"Lelia will wear what she wants. She will look beautiful in anything she decides to wear." Breha interjects. Leia stops, deciding she cannot step away from this conversation.

"Lelia, dearest how are you?" Celly asks as she steps into the living room.

"I'm fine thank you." She responds. "And yes, I will be wearing my uniform."

"They just are so dull Darling. I'm sure we could run you into town to get you a new dress before the dance." Rogue offers. Leia shakes her head,

"Thank you, that won't be necessary. All the men will be wearing their uniforms and so shall I." Her two aunts go quiet. Leia looks over at her youngest aunt, Tia who had been silent this whole conversation. "Now please pardon me, I need to speak to father."

Leia leaves for her sanctuary, her father's office. She opens the door, and sees her father sitting at his desk.

"You can't hide from your sisters forever. I hope you realize that." Leia sighs, closing the door behind her.

"I do realize that thank you. I've just elected to ignore it." Bail responds, putting down his pen and leans back in his chair.

"Well you are doing a wonderful job." She says, seating herself in a chair across from her father.

"I've had many years of experience my dear."

"It had obviously paid off for you."

"So, are you off to the dance tonight?" He asks, changing the subject.

"Do I have a choice?" She questions back.

"Well as my daughter, no you do not have a choice. However, It gives you a night to wind down and have some fun."

"Please, I've been home long enough to wind down." Leia huffs.

"Your time in the hospital does not count." Bail responds, going back to his paperwork. The room goes silent as Bail continues to work and Leia being unsure how to respond to him.

"Well, I'm going to go get ready. See if your sisters realize what I'm doing." Leia stands.

"Good luck with that." Bail laughs as Leia leaves the office. She makes her way back up to her room. She notices her uniform lying on her bed, pressed and brushed.

"Lelia, what on earth would you like to do with your hair?" Tia asks, barging into the room.

"I was going to pin it up, get it out of the way." Leia responds, Tia nods and steps into the room.

"Let me do it for you."

"It's really not necessary aunt Tia."

"No, let me." She responds walking to the vanity, grabbing the hair pins sitting in a porcelain bowl. "Come sit." Leia sighs and reluctantly sits in front of the vanity, letting her aunt do her hair. Tia takes a step back, looking at her niece's hair.

"I have just the thing!" She smiles and leaves. Leia turns around to find her aunt gone, meaning she would be back with the others. Before she could start plotting her escape, Tia returned with Breha's curling iron.

"Tia, I said just to pin. Whether it is a bob or a ponytail."

"I know but it a celebration and you deserve to look beautiful." She smiles. "You may have served, but you're also a lady.

"Well it will take a little for it to heat up and I'm just a little too impatient. I think we should just keep to the plan." Leia explains, really not wanting the hot iron near her hair.

"Oh, it's already hot. Rogue heated it up shortly as you returned to your room." Tia explains, starting to separate her hair.

"How convenient." Leia mutters, now understanding that her aunts had plotted for this to happen. Leia stares at her aunt through the mirror. She had felt sorry for Tia, her lover had gone AWOL during the Great War, leaving her pregnant. Only for her son, Nial to be killed during the North Africa campaign; Tia was the only one of her aunt's to be touched by the war and yet never took the time to grieve.

"How it is looking?" Rogue asks snapping Leia out of her thoughts as she enters the room. "Oh Leia, you are going to look so beautiful. Here Tia, if you curl the front I'll start on the rolls."

"Rolls?" Leia questions her aunts, starting to regret he decision to grow her hair when she had returned.

"Do not worry dear, they won't hurt." Rogue assures her.

"Who's worried…" Leia bites her lip.

"Don't do that Leia, you look like a pouting child." Tia scolds her, finishing up the front. Celly comes into the room and looks at the young woman.

"I know just the thing." Celly reaches for the rouge sitting on the vanity.

"Not too much." Leia pulls away from her aunt, making her hair slip through Rogue's fingers.

"Leia, sit still." Rogue scolds, grabbing the hair again and beginning to roll it once again. Celly begins to dab the rouge on Leia's cheeks.

"How about some eye liner?" Celly asks.

"I'm fine with just the rouge." Leia says.

"Hmmm, just a little bit." Rogue injects, making Leia realize she had no say in the matter.

"And some mascara." Tia pipes in. "Oh and go with a red lipstick for her, it would just look wonderful. Leia sits silently, fuming as she allows her aunts to poke and prod at her. Just hoping this night would be worth it.

 **Authors note:**

Thanks for reading. Had to rewrite this chapter a couple times, just couldn't quite get it right. Feel free to comment and tell me what you think, as constructive criticism is always welcome.

Xoxo Tamorasky


	3. You Won't Find Me

May 12, 1946.

Leia stands off to the side as her parents talk to the older officers. She had yet to notice anyone she knew, up to that point it had been up to officers and their wives coming to talk to the Senator. She looks down at her military issued shoes, noting how clean they were, possibly the second time they were actually clean.

"Sugar!" a voice calls out, Leia looks up to see Winter racing towards her. "I'm so glad you're here. God all the men here are so high and mighty since they did all the fighting."

"Well they did fight." Leia responds as Winter links their arms together.

"That is true. But, just because they fought doesn't discredit us. There were many women who died too."

"Well I would hope they aren't totally oblivious to that." Leia says as they begin to walk outside to the patio.

"I know, and many do recognize that…expect the arrogant few."

"Ah Yes, of course. You really need to state yourself better, for a moment there I thought you meant every male private."

"Didn't realize there was a difference between the two." Winter jokes, Leia shakes her head in disapproval but still smiles.

"Speaking of service, where is your uniform?" Leia asks, noticing Winter wearing a tight red dress as opposed to her white nurse uniform.

"It washes me out. The white dress does nothing for my hair." She states, gesturing to her white hair; done up into a French twist. "Also, it's a party I can wear what I want. I'm surprised you didn't do the same."

"I'm proud of my service."

"As I am, I spent nearly two years in that uniform. I'll be damned if I have to wear it again tonight."

"Shara will probably be wearing hers."

"Of course she will be, the uniforms are the only thing the Brits didn't screw up."

"Have you been talking to Tycho again?" Leia asks, knowing that type of sentiment came from him.

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Winter replies

"Please, I remember you telling me how anything that is my business is also yours, I believe it goes both ways." Leia smiles knowingly. Winter turns her head away rolling her eyes as Leia laughs, knowing her friend would be forced to talk eventually.

"Here's the real party." Winter says, quickly changing the subject as they walk onto the patio, filled with young men dressed in uniform.

Leia stops in her steps noticing a man standing in a group, mostly made up of men. She breaks away from Winter and the starts to race towards this young man.

"LUKE!" She calls out, running over. The sandy blonde man looks up, a smile breaking out.

"HEY!" He calls back excitedly and begins to race to meet her. Their bodies collide as their arms wrap around one another. Luke lifts Leia in excitement, both of them laughing in happiness.

"I've missed you." She says, not letting go of him.

"Me too." He responds, putting her down.

"When did you return home?"

"A few weeks ago. I haven't had the time to settle in yet, I had to go to Arkansas with Owen shortly after I returned." Luke responds, explaining his absence from visiting Leia.

"I understand. Mother and Father are inside, they'll want to see you."

"Yes, of course. Here, come meet the guys." Luke places a guiding hand on Leia's shoulder to lead her to the group. Leia looks over to where she left Winter, only to see her chatting with Tycho, all made up in his navy service dress. Leia smiles and continues her way over to the group of men, most wearing their dress blues.

"Guys this is Leia." Luke announces as they enter back in. "Leia, you know Wedge, Kes, and Wes."

"Of course. Hello Boys."

"And this is-" Before Luke can finish his sentence the unknown man cuts him off.

"Han Solo, Captain of the 3rd battalion, 1st Marine division." The man flashes her a charming smile and holds out his hand. "and you are?"

"Leia." She plainly states, not revealing her rank. She turns her attention back to Luke's boyhood friends. "Kes, where is Shara?"

"She'll be here soon, she got caught up at work."

"She already has a job? Jesus, you think if it's that easier for a Brit to land a job, it would be just as easy for an American." Wes shakes his head.

"Yeah, I was down at the college trying to apply for classes and they were asking me what I learned in the army that I could apply to an everyday job." Wedge says.

"You learned to kill the enemy." Han interjects.

"Exactly, so I guess I'm going back to the garage. At least until I figure out what the hell I'm going to do." Wedge says, lighting up a cigarette.

"It could be worse." Han says, lighting up one as well. "You could be jobless and ugly." The men around him start to laugh, but Leia just stares at the strange brunette. He stares over to her, taking a drag of his cigarette as the three other begin to chat about something else. "See something you like sweetheart?"

"It's sergeant to you." Leia gets a better look at the insignia on his sleeve, confirming her suspicion. "and no, not in particular Private." Leia walks away from the group without another word.

"Winter." She says, approaching her best friend. "I need a drink." She pulls Winter away from Tycho.

"What the hell?"

"I need to get away."

"From wha- Oh, damn I see." Winter smiles catching a glimpse at the marine standing with Luke's group.

"What?" Leia turns to see Winter referring to Han. "Yeah exactly that is the most arrogant man I have ever had the displeasure of ever meeting."

"He could be the most pleasurable experience you ever have."

"Winter, would you stop for five minutes?"

"Hell no, men like that are the reason I became an army nurse."

"I thought you wanted to serve your country?"

"Please, majority of us wanted to meet a man."

"That is so degrading." Leia shakes her head. She grabs Winter as she notices her friend starting to make her way over. "No, we are not doing that."

"Well looks like we don't have to. Looks like he's coming to us."

"Then I'm leaving." Leia begins to make her way out as Winter steps in her way.

"Who's your friend princess?" Han asks, having approached them before Leia could escape.

"It's sergeant, and its not important, we're leaving anyhow."

"I'm Winter." The blonde ignores her friend, introducing herself.

"Han Solo."

"Nice to meet you." Winter smiles politely. "Now if you'd excuse me, I ought to go find my date." She smiles one last time before disappearing into the crowd to find Tycho.

"I am going to assume you're not leaving." Han says smugly.

"Obviously not."

"Where did you serve?" He unexpectedly asks.

"Pardon?"

"What? You seriously didn't hear that? I'm like two feet away."

"A simple repeat would have sufficed Private."

"Oh I apologize your highness, where did you do your duty?"

"Germany and France." Leia responds, quite annoyed at the man.

"And what did you do there?"

"Private, I sense that you don't care about me nor the details of me service. So I suggest you find company elsewhere or stand there quietly and not talk to me as you are clearly trying to make that blonde at the bar jealous."

"Alright, well as much as she is quite attractive. I was trying to make polite conversation with you."

"Yes, and as a token of that politeness you no longer have to converse with me."

"Whatever you say your majesty." Han walks away from her for the blonde, standing around in a long green dress. "Hi, Captain Han Solo and you are?"

Leia rolls her eyes as his introduction carries through the room.

"Your friend seems like quite the ladies man, I wonder if he actually cares about anyone." Leia comments as Luke approaches her, he laughs turning to face where Han stands.

"Yeah, he's quite interesting." Luke chuckles. "Wedge and the guys are taking the party over to the bar. Wanna come?"

"No, I think I'll just go home." Leia shakes her head, her eyes leaving Han.

"Are you sure? It will be fun."

"I'm sure it will be. I'm still not going to come."

"Your choice." Luke shrugs, wrapping his arms around Leia.

"Welcome home." She states, holding him back.

"It's so weird still, being home. I wonder if I'll ever get used to it."

"You will eventually." Leia says pulling away from Luke. Wondering if there was any truth in her own words.


	4. Just a Tuesday

"What can I tell you Chewie. We knew this state wasn't gonna be any better than the last." Han says, walking down the street with his best friend. The larger man responds, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, anything is better than Louisiana. But doesn't make it better or less racist. God we can't even find a coffee in this forsaken town." Han shakes his head. It had been over an hour since the two of them had left the apartment to get some coffee with no one giving them service.

Chewie sighs and looks to his friend, finally addressing the problem.

"Like hell your gonna go back to the apartment. You dragged me out of bed for this and your gonna suffer with me." Han objects. "I'm sure there will be a place that will serve us."

The two walk into a small diner on the corner, a small bell sounding as they enter. The waiter behind the counter looks up at the two and stops his pouring coffee. It had felt as everyone had stopped and was staring at the two.

"Can I help you boys with something?" the waiter asks.

"Yeah, we want two coffees." Han responds hesitantly, suspicious of the waiter's attitude.

"I can get those for yourself, not for your companion though." The man follows up, not directly talking to Chewie.

"All we want is coffee. We don't have to stay, we just want some coffee and we'll leave." Han explains his fists balling up at his sides, clearly frustrated. The waiter approaches Han and steps close to him.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me. You can stay, your colored friend can't." The waiter repeats. Chewie places a hand on Han's shoulder, telling him to cool down.

"We don't need this. Come on Chewie." Han turns around, about to follow Chewie out.

"Yeah, go back to your n-" Before the waiter finished Han is back in the man's face.

"Go ahead and finish that thought." He snaps. Han stares down the man, waiting for him to finish his response. "I didn't think so you bigoted piece of shit."

The waiter remains silent, unsure how to respond. He eventually raises his fist, punching Han in his jaw. Han is taken aback by the stranger's outburst, but follows up by punching him in the cheek. The waiter pushes Han towards the door. Chewie calls for Han as he makes his way out of the door.

"I'm coming." Han huffs, glaring at the waiter before leaving the diner. The two men continue on down the street, Han gingerly touching his jaw. Chewie looks down to his friend, asking him a question.

"Yeah it hurts. That asshole sucker punched me." Chewie laughs at his friend's response. The larger man looks over his shoulder, noticing a group of men following them from the diner. Chewie calls to Han, bringing the group to his attention.

"Fuck, these assholes don't know when to stop." Han shakes his head. The two men step off the side, waiting for the group to hopefully pass. The group of four approached them, backing them against the wall. Chewie asks the group a question, the four men look at him, confused.

"What the fuck did he say?"

"He asked if there's anything we can help you assholes with?"

"He can learn his place to begin with." Another man says

"He is at his place, next to me." Han balls up his fists, preparing for another fight.

"Gentleman, what seems to be the problem?" A voice interrupts the group. They look to the mystery man, some in the group physically backing up.

"Senator." The blonde in the group says.

"Isolder, gentleman. What seems to be the problem?" The older man asks.

"Well…we are…umm…" The blonde stutters.

"Why don't you boys move along, let the men be." The senator smiles as the group disperses down the street. "I do apologize, not everyone in our town are particularly…. friendly. How can I make it up to you?" Chewie responds to the man, who looks to Han as he didn't understand Chewie's dialect.

"He says, if you know where we could get a cup of coffee that'd be wonderful." Han hesitantly translates, not wanting to bother the Senator any longer.

"I know of a place. Please follow me." The senator responds, beginning to walk down the street. Han looks to his friend, who follows the senator.

…

Leia steps into her father's office building, slipping off her tan overcoat as she walks in.

"Sabe, is father in?" She asks, stepping across the lobby. Bail's secretary looks up from the typewriter.

"He is in, But-"

"Thank you Sabe." She cuts off the woman. Opening the door to his office. "Father did you hear about." Leia stops as she notices her father had guests.

"Ah, Lelia. Gentlemen this is my daughter, Leia." The two men stand to face her, the smile on her face disappearing as she recognized the shorter man.

"Well, your highness." Han smirks as he makes eye contact with the woman.

"What are you doing here private?" Leia demands, her polite demeanour disappearing.

"Lelia, don't be rude. These men were looking for a cup of coffee and I managed to run into them." Bail explains. Leia turns away from Han, trying to ignore him. She turns her attention to the other man, extending her hand towards him.

"I am Leia." She introduces herself. Chewie introduces himself, taking her hand.

"So, you and the private have met?" Bail asks, amused by Han's reaction to Leia.

"We met at the dance the other night." Han explains.

"I see. I thought you must've served together."

"No sir, I was a marine. Chewie and I were stationed in the south pacific together." Han explains.

"Ah yes, Lelia was in Europe for most of the war." Bail explains, proud of his daughter's service.

"Thank you father, but I'm sure Mr Solo and Mr…." Leia drifts off, realizing she did not know the other man's last name.

"Oh, it's just Chewie. He hates it when non Creole people try to pronounce his name, so it's Chewie." Han explains for his friend.

"I see. Well I'm sure they do not want to wear about my service."

"On the contrary sweetheart, I haven't got time for anything else." He smirks at her. Leia stares at the man, her face slowly reddening. Bail stares at his daughter, never once since being in his life had Bail seen this type of response from Leia.

A knock echoes through the room, dispersing the odd atmosphere.

"Come in!" Bail calls. Sabe pokes her head in, staring at the senator.

"Senator Organa, Governor Tarkin is here to see you." She announces.

"Of course he is… Let him in Sabe. We were just finishing up." Bail sighs. "Leia please show Mr. Solo and Mr. Chewie out. Gentlemen it was a pleasure meeting you, I'm sorry it had to be cut short."

"It's not problem. Thanks for the coffee." Han responds, Chewie nodding and expressing his thanks as well. Leia opens the door to find the white haired governor standing at the doorway.

"Miss Organa, what a surprise." He states, his gaze was scrutinizing and cold.

"Governor Tarkin, I should've thought it was you…I recognized your foul stench as you walked into the building." Leia smiles sweetly at the man.

"Charming as ever." The politician pushes past the young woman into Bail's office. He stops as he notices Han and Chewie. "Bail I didn't realize you had…. company."

"They were just stopping by. Leia please show the gentlemen out." Bail repeats. Leia sighs and steps aside as Han and Chewie leave the office, she follows after shutting the door tightly behind them. Chewie laughs as they leave, making a statement.

"Yeah you said it Chewie." Han chuckles.

"What did he say?" Leia asks

"He said you could feel death radiating on that one." Han repeats. Leia looks at the two, not understanding the joke. "It's funnier in his language."

"So what language is that?"

"It's French sweetheart. I would've thought a woman of the world would know that."

"Well I figured that. I understand some of what he says but not everything, I understand French."

"Well…what Chewie speaks isn't French, in a traditional way. He speaks Louisiana Creole, a French based language that was used by people in slave colonies in Louisiana. It's starting to become less common there now, but there are still many who use it." Han explains.

"Why doesn't he speak English?" Leia asks, noting that the man could obviously understand what they were saying.

"Well he does, in the war he used to flip between the two. But now, he's back home so what's the point?"

"A political statement of some kind?" Leia asks, still not really understanding.

"You could say that I guess." Han shrugs. "Well we gotta get going. Have to find work around here somewhere."

"Good luck with that. A guy with your ego I doubt you'll even get an interview."

"Is that a challenge your highness?"

"Goodbye private." Leia states, turning away from him. Han watches her go, her hair bouncing as she saunters away.

 **Author's Note:**

 **I am back! Sorry this took me a little time to get up but I'm back in the habit of writing and I now have a schedule for my stories. Every second Saturday I will be posting a new chapter. Once again if characters seem a little OC let me know and I will correct my ways, same goes with historical and cultural facts.**

 **Also I wanna get a little feedback about Chewies character, is the way I'm taking the dialogue ok? Or would you prefer to see me giving Chewie actual dialogue and not based on Han's reactions?**

 **Also tell me what you think. Next chapter should be up on July 14.**

 **XOXO Tamorasky.**


	5. House of Gold

Leia sits at her father's desk, listening in on her parent's conversation through the slightly cracked door. She turns the page in the history book, trying to ignore the two.

"Bail, I don't trust him." Breha states.

"I know you don't and you have every reason not to. I don't trust him either but he is the governor. I can't just throw him out of my office for no reason." Bail places his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm his stressed wife.

"He is an outspoken racist, he won't let it pass that you let a black man into your office."

"It'll be fine. He can't take legal action against me; it'd look bad for his campaign. Tarkin can't touch us." Bail kisses Breha's forehead.

"But what if it's not okay? What about Leia? Bail you have to think of how your actions affect her."

"She is capable of handling herself, you know she is."

"The unsavoury characters in this town won't stand what happened today. I've already gotten phone calls from the Hapes and families of those boys. You don't think they won't harass her as well?"

"Breha, she will be fine. She has fought through hell and back."

"And you'd send her back in to that?"

"Of course not." Bail sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I know she can handle it."

"You hear her in the night. How could you say that?" Breha asks in a quiet voice, walking away from her husband. Bail retreats into his study, shutting the door tightly behind him.

"So things with Tarkin went that bad, did they?" Leia asks as the door clicks into place, making Bail jump a little.

"Not bad, just an unpleasant exchange. Especially after that comment you made to him." Bail says, turning to face his daughter.

"Well I won't apologize." Leia states, closing the book in front of her.

"You're as stubborn as your mother." Bail comments as he sits down across the desk from Leia.

"What did he want?"

"None of your business, that is what."

"Did it have to do with those two men?" Leia asks. "I swear they are more trouble than they are worth."

"Do you really mean that?" Bail raises his eyebrow at the young woman.

"Well, maybe not Mr. Chewie. But Mr. Solo very much so, he is arrogant and has no regard for other people."

"I see, and what makes you think that?" Bail chuckles, amused at his daughter's reaction to the young man.

"He immediately assumed the title of captain when I first met him, until I informed him that I knew of his rank. He then had the gall to reproach me and openly flirt with me."

"The nerve of some people." Bail smirks, trying to hold back a laugh.

"I do not wish to be poked fun at. If that is something you want to continue to do I suggest you go find your wife and continue with her."

"What do you think of young Isolder?" Bail asks, changing the subject. Leia pointedly looks at her father, unsure where he was going to take this.

"I just told you, I don't want to be poked fun at."

"I'm not poking fun, I genuinely want to know."

"He's fine, his morals are somewhat questionable, but he treats you and mother with respect."

"What morals do you find to be questionable?"

"Father, if you are trying to procure a husband for me you can forget it. Did Rogue and Celly put you up to it?"

"No, your aunts had nothing to do with this questioning. And no I am not trying to procure a husband for you. You can make that choice for yourself when it's time." Bail shakes his head.

Leia awkwardly smiles at her father, not sure to tell him if there was ever going to be a time for her to marry.

"Well, I must be off." Leia changes the subject, standing from the chair.

"And where is Winter dragging you off to tonight?"

"Not sure yet. She rang over an hour ago and told me nothing except that we were going out." Leia shrugs her shoulders.

"Well be home by eleven please. I'd rather not wait up."

"You don't always have to wait up. I'm capable of handling myself." Leia smiles and kisses her father on the cheek before leaving the study.

"Say goodbye to your mother as well." Bail calls after her. Leia nods, silently acknowledging her father's request. She makes her way to the living room, where her mother is bound to be.

"Mother I'm off." Leia says as she steps into the favoured room of Breha.

"Grab a sweater will you? It supposed to get cold tonight."

"Of course." Leia smiles. She kisses her mother on the cheek as she grabs Breha's yellow cardigan that sat on the couch next to her.

"Leilia." Breha jokingly scolds as her daughter puts on her sweater.

"Bye." Leia calls behind her as she exits the room. Leia exits the house, running on the cobblestone driveway to her bicycle, which leant up against the house. She walks it out of the gated driveway, hopping on it as she rides into town to meet her friend.

It was a ten-minute ride from her home to the town, Leia had been cycling since she was little; using it as a means of transportation.

She stops in front of The Garden, a small café that had recently opened shortly after the war. Leia leans her bike against the side of the building.

"Sugar!" Leia hears Winter call, she turns to see her friend on the arm of Tycho, who was dressed in his navy blues once again.

"You have to stop calling me that." Leia comments.

"It's adorable and suits you." Winter smiles as she breaks away from her date to hug her best friend.

"I don't understand how it suits me."

"Oh shush." Winter says. "What are you wearing?" She asks, noting Leia's plain black A-line skirt, floral blouse, and yellow cardigan.

"It was last minute." Leia says, not realizing that she was to dress up as her friend had. Winter wore a dark green vespertine dress with black high heels to match, her bright red lips adding a pop of color to her outfit.

"Well no matter. It's not like we're meeting anyone important. Shall we go in?" Winter asks, turning back to Tycho. Leia follows after the couple into the building. The room was loud with talking and jazz music flowed through the building.

"There they are." Leia hears Tycho say to Winter shortly after they enter the building. She silently follows them to the table, unsure of how she felt of the men staring after her friend and her. She can't help but be relived when they reach the table as she spots Luke, she smiles and slides into the booth next to him.

"I wasn't sure if you were coming." Luke states. Leia shrugs as she waves to Kes and Wes also sitting at the booth.

"Neither was I, but here I am."

"Sorry I'm late." A seventh voice interrupts. Leia looks over to see Han Solo standing at the end of the table.

"It's no problem Han, here take a seat next to Leia." Luke smiles at his friend, offering up the last seat.

"Don't mind if I do." Han smirks as he slides next to her. "Hello your highness."

Leia sighs, knowing exactly how her night was going to go.


	6. The Dozens

Leia remains silent as she watches her company interact with one another. Winter and Tycho interacted with each other almost exclusively, adding a few comments here and there to the group. Wes left shortly after Leia arrived at the café, with Wedge eventually joining the group to replace him. Luke and Wedge would go on to tease Kes over his girlfriend overseas.

"What about Luke? Seriously Han, you should have seen it. All these British girls were practically throwing themselves on him." Kes laughs. Han chuckles while taking a sip of his beer.

"What about you Han? Any girls during your service?" Wedge asks.

"Nah, My troop was in Melbourne for a few days but not enough to elicit an affair. It was mostly rain and jungle rot, not a lot in the pacific."

"Really? No Aussie girls to keep you warm at night?" Wedge responds.

"Nope." Han shakes his head.

"Of all people I would have thought that you would have slept with an Aussie girl." Wedge says, continuing to press the matter.

"Yeah well we didn't have a lot of freedom." Han responds. "What about you princess, you score some guy in the army?"

"No, when you soldiers were off gallivanting, I was working to get you boys into Germany." Leia states, making the three men laugh.

"That you were." Luke says, placing an arm over Leia's shoulder. Han looks at the two and proceeds to finish his beer.

"Lelia, look who's coming over." Winter says, coming out of the bubble she had immersed herself in.

"I'm not sure if I want to." Leia says, hesitantly turning to see whom Winter was talking about. A group of men had walked in, all wearing uniforms; one of who was walking towards the table.

"Leia, I had called on you tonight. Moira said you were not at home." He says, purposefully ignoring her company.

"You have missed me. I've been in and out of the house all day." Leia responds, not making eye contact with the man.

"Well no matter, we ended up meeting anyhow. Fancy a drink?"

"No thank you Isolder. I have a drink."

"Come on Leia, I'm sure you need a break from these losers. No offence boys." He says, nodding to the men at the table.

"No I really am fine." Leia repeats.

"Come on Leia, you are breaking my heart." Isolder fakes a pout while holding his chest. Han sighs and stands up, blocking the blonde's view of Leia.

"She doesn't want a drink." Han states, tired of the stranger's unreciprocated banter.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Han Solo. Who the hell are you?" Han repeats.

"Lieutenant Isolder Hapes." The man responds, towering slightly over Han.

"An officer huh? Where did you serve?"

"I graduated from Westpoint."

"I didn't ask where you graduated from, I asked where you served." Han restates. Isolder stares at Han, his teeth grinding against each other as he was obviously getting annoyed at the private.

"Where did you serve?" Isolder asks in a rather childish manner.

"I served in the pacific theater with the Marine Corps." Han smirks, still waiting on Isolder's answer.

"I don't have to deal with this. Leia, I'll be with my buddies. Come join us." Isolder walks away from the table, finally giving up on her.

"Jesus, what's up his ass?" Han asks as he sits back down.

"Congratulations Han, you got the spoiled brat to shut up." Wedge raises his glass to Han.

"Yeah, for the past months Isolder has been talking about his commission and won't say where he served. " Kes says.

"He probably didn't fight overseas." Luke states. "Many of those guys didn't. Either they enrolled shortly after we landed and graduated when the fighting was over or parents had a roll to play."

"Yea it figures." Han says.

"That doesn't matter, Isolder is apart of the army just as you guys are." Leia states, not wanting to defend the man but also not wanting to dismiss his military status.

"Please Princess, he's no better than those kids who came as replacements who are trigger happy to kill people." Han rolls his eyes.

"So you're saying that those replacements who lost their lives had no right to say they were in service?"

"Of course not. Those kids saw actual actions, they know how it felt to kill and saw people they were close to die. Kids like Isolder have no clue how any of that felt and never will 'cause in three years time when the uniform and title are no longer attractive to girls, he'll dump them in a second to make money at his families estate." Han responds. Leia stares down the man, not wanting to relent. She eventually stands and begins to walk away from the table.

"Where are you going?" Luke asks after her, his words slurring slightly.

"I'm going to powder my nose." She says walking the opposite way of the ladies room.

"Why is Leia leaving?" Wedge asks. Han rolls his eyes and stands up, going after the young woman.

"Leia." Han calls as he notices her grabbing her bicycle.

"What now? Are you going to lecture me on how women didn't have any role to play during the war?"

"Of course not. That's not what this is about. It's about men who have the gall to step up and use the military as a way to pick up women or get special treatment when in reality they know nothing of war." Han sighs. "I assumed you would understand but I guess not."

"Yeah, I guess so." Leia mounts her bike, getting ready to take off.

"Let me give you a ride home." Han says, his hands stuffed into his coat pockets.

"No thanks. I don't need your help."

"Christ, can you for once just allow me to do something nice for you? I gotta take Luke home anyway." Han swears.

"Fine." Leia responds, getting off her bicycle. "But only because you insisted, not because I'm relying on you."

"Yea sure, whatever. I'll get Luke." Han shakes his head, going back into the building to retrieve their friend.

…

"Hey Leia, why are you so mean to him?" Luke slurs as he rests his arm on Han's shoulder to hold him up.

"Mean to who Luke?" Leia asks, walking a few inches away from the men.

"To Han, you're at least somewhat pleasant to me and the guys. But not to Han, why?" Luke draws on.

"Yeah princess why?" Han reiterates, a smirk forming on his face.

"Cause you and the boys are somewhat pleasant to be around. Mr Solo here is nothing but a pain in the rear." Leia comments, walking ahead.

"She's kinda right you know." Luke whispers to his friend. Han rolls his eyes as the smirk disappears from his face.

"I don't know kid, maybe in a few months the princess and me will be together."

"No." Luke responds right away, almost cutting the brunette off.

"Oh your highness, my car is here." Han calls after Leia, who had walked past Han's truck. Leia turns back to the car taking a good look, it was a ford made in the mid-1930s, beginning to slightly rust and obviously hadn't been well taken car of in it's life.

"You drive around in that thing?" Leia asks, physically pointing at the truck.

"Yeah." Han replies, grabbing the keys from his pocket.

"You're braver than I thought." Leia mocks. Han rolls his eyes as he unlocks the door. He sets Luke down on the seat and moves to Leia's bike. "I don't know can this bucket of bolts carry all three of us and the bike? I'd feel bad if we wrecked your baby."

"Very funny. Get in the car." Han says, lifting the bike into the bed of the truck. Leia smirks as she slides into the middle through the driver's side; Han slides in next to her and slams the door.

…..

Luke had fallen asleep on the ride to Leia's house, which had made the car fairly silent beside the low rumble on the engine.

"I don't know how I'm gonna get him home with him asleep like that." Han comments, finally breaking the silence.

"I'll give you directions from my place." Leia responds quickly, already missing the silence. Han nods his head, not carrying on the conversation. As he drives he notices the horizon lit up, he squints unsure whether the sun had come up or had yet to go down still.

"Do you see that?" He asks, bringing Leia out of her daze she glances off to the side.

"Yeah I do." She sits up, puzzled by the mysterious light. It becomes brighter as they drive closer, a change in heat becoming more noticeable as they reach it.

"What is that? A grass fire?" Han asks.

"No….it's not a grass fire." Leia responds, her chest dropping to her stomach as they draw closer.

"What the hell is it?"

"Stop the car." Leia says. Han looks over at the woman, puzzled by her sudden request. "I said stop." Han pushed on the brake, fulfilling her demand. Leia reaches over Luke, unlatching the door and proceeds to crawl over the blonde to get out.

"Leia!" Han calls as she exits the car. He places the vehicle in park and goes after her. When he exits the car he sprints after her, having difficulty catching up to her as she dashes towards the light.

Leia's heart pounds as she sprints down the gravel road, her shoes digging painfully into her feet. She rounds the corner to her driveway that led to her house, stopping as she watches her life crumble around her.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Apologizing for the awful editing it's almost midnight and I wanted to get the story up, I might go back through and fix errors if I have time this week. Tell me what you think as always, I feel I might've been too OC with this chapter and I will try to correct that as much as possible. Thanks for reading and the encouragement with this story I really appreciate it.**

 **XOXO Tamorasky.**


	7. Hands on a Grain

For the first time in years her head is blank, at this particular moment she doesn't have a plan a,b,c, or d. She stares intently at the ground, not looking the man that sat across from her in the eye.

"Leia." He calls, trying to get her attention. "My dear, take time to process this people react differently to these situations."

She finally brings herself to look up to the lawyer, who looked at her in concern.

"Of course." She responds after a moment of silence.

"Now, your parent's will does state that the house and surrounding land will be sold off as soon as possible. You will receive the profits from that sale." The man carries on hesitantly.

"Okay."

"Now, the matter of your inheritance. You father has it set up so that when you turn 23 it will be released to you in full. As you are only 20, you will receive an annual allowance from that to provide for yourself until then."

"Is that all?" Leia asks, her eyes wandering back to the ground.

"For now, yes." The older gentleman nods. Leia stands up, clutching her leather purse to her body. "Do you have a place to stay my dear?"

"I'm staying on the Lars' farm at the moment

"I'm glad they took you in. If anything happens or you need anything, my door is always open for you as well Lelia." He says, standing as Leia makes her way for the door.

"Of course. Thank you Carlist." Leia smiles slightly before leaving the office of her father's oldest friend.

Upon exiting the building, she spots Luke waiting in front of his uncle's old truck.

"How did it go?" He asks, unsure if that was an appropriate question to ask the young woman.

"It was fine." She responds, climbing in to the passenger's side of the truck.

"Well fine is better than bad." He comments as he gets behind the wheel. "Man, uncle Owen is gonna be mad that we're late. I promised we'd be home an hour ago."

"You could have left. I'm very well capable of finding my own way back to the farm."

"I know you are, but it's almost a 2 hour walk from town." Luke states as he starts the car, heading back for the farm.

….

Luke parks the truck outside of the barn, hopping out as fast as he can to unload the parts for the tractor. Leia spots Owen making his way over to his nephew.

"Luke, your late." The older man states.

"I know, Leia's meeting ran a little long."

"Well, it's too late for that. Help me get these parts into the barn before is decides to storm on us."

"Yes uncle Owen." Luke reponds, carrying the parts over to the barn. Owen looks to the truck, spotting Leia in the passenger side. Leia felt uneasy, his stare wasn't threatening but wasn't welcoming either. Since coming to stay with the Lars, Leia did all she could in her power to avoid Owen. She knew he didn't want her there, and he did an awful job at hiding it.

He grabs one of the tools from the truck bed and makes his way for the barn. Leia opens her door as he disappears, finally making her way to the house.

It was warm as she entered the small house, which meant Beru was cooking.

"Oh Leia, how was town?" The middle-aged woman asks, wiping her hands on a tea towel.

"It was fine, thank you." Leia responds, moving through the kitchen to the bedroom she was currently residing in.

"I'll call you when dinner is ready." Beru says, going back to the stove. Leia smiles and nods before excusing herself to the room, not closing the door fully. Leia goes to the small bed and falls back onto it. Before the fire she had dreaded sleeping, since then she found that's all she wanted to do; despite the terrors that followed her.

"She in her room?" Leia overhears Owen ask his wife.

"Yes, she's having a lay down before supper."

"Doesn't surprise me." He says, "Bail raised that girl lazy."

"How do you mean?" Beru questions.

"She's intelligence sure, but she was never taught to work hard, everything has been handed to her on a silver platter."

"You don't get to criticize how Bail raised that girl. We made that choice."

"I know what we chose, but even now we don't have the resources to take care of her." Owen sighs, "I'm sure one of Bail's sisters would take her."

"Perhaps, but she needs to come that decision herself. We can't force it on her."

"I suppose."

"Now, go get Luke from the barn. Supper is ready." Beru says. Leia turns her body to the wall as she hears footsteps approaching the room. "Leia, dear. Supper is ready."

"Thank you, Mrs Lars I will be out in a moment." Leia sits up from the mattress, hesitating to head for dinner. She stands and a quietly treads out of the room to the table. Leia is seated across from Luke at the square table.

"Now Luke, after dinner I want you back there working on the tractor." Owen says, almost immediately after grace.

"But, I was going to go into town to see a film with Wedge and Kes." Luke responds, disappointed across his face.

"You can waste time with your friends later. Harvest is coming soon and we have to prepare."

"Do you have any plans tonight Leia." Beru asks, switching over the focus of the conversation.

"Not really." Leia responds, soothing over her skirt.

"Perfect, I have some sewing to do, would you like to help me with that?"

"Actually, I was going to pack." At Leia's response, everyone goes silent.

"What do you mean?" Beru asks.

"I've found a place in town to stay, so I no longer have to stay here."

"Where?" Luke asks, surprised he hadn't heard about Leia's new house.

"Same neighbour that Father's office was."

"Well I mean, if that's what you want." Owen responds, continuing to eat his soup.

"Leia, I don't want you feeling like you have to go. Owen and I are happy to have you with us." Beru interjects, wanting the younger woman to feel welcome.

"I'm very grateful to both of you for housing me. But, I feel like it's time for me to go elsewhere. I can't rely on others forever." Leia says, setting down her spoon.

"Well, if that's how you feel." Beru responds, continuing to eat her dinner.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay here. If it's alright I'll get Luke to drive me into town." Leia continues.

"That'd be fine, as long as he isn't there for too long." Owen replies.

"Tonight? Leia, you don't have to leave so soon, it's starting to get dark." Beru states, worried about the girl's sudden announcement.

"Well, the apartment got signed over to me just today and I'd like to spend the night in it."

"Beru, leave it. She wants to leave tonight, let her leave." Owen says, still eating his dinner. Leia picks her spoon back up and continues to eat, deciding to let Owen have the last word; he clearly didn't want Leia there any longer and she was more than anxious to leave that house.

Leia packed up the few belongings she had in a matter of minutes after supper, wasting no time to leave the farmhouse.

"You know you don't have to leave." Luke says as they get in the truck.

"I know, I can't stand your uncle though and he clearly can't stand me." Leia says, shutting her door.

"I don't believe that."

"Don't you? I find that hard to believe, your uncle made no attempt to make me feel welcome."

"He never does, my uncle isn't really the welcoming sort." Luke chuckles.

"It's no matter. Just take me to Winter's house."

"Winter? I thought you had a house already?"

"Of course not. I just couldn't stand being there any longer." Leia admits.

"Yeah, I don't know if I can either." Luke follows with a sigh. "I mean, I love Beru and Owen but I can't do another harvest there."

"Owen relies on you."

"Yeah, exactly. That's all he ever seems to do, I never get any free time." Luke responds, his eyes not leaving the road.

Leia doesn't respond as she looks out the car window. Her mind focused on her current situation. She had no doubt that Winter would take her in, but even so she couldn't rely on others forever.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sorry for the late late upload, I kinda took this summer easy.I as waiting for a new computer and have finally gotten it. Also sorry for the awful editing, I wanted to get is posted ASAP. Thanks for reading, I'll be carrying on through the fall.**

 **~Tamorasky.**


	8. Tiny Glass Houses

Han and Luke sat at a table in the corner of the bar, nursing their beers as loud jazz music plays in the background. Luke notices another person making her way over to the table.

"Oh, here comes trouble." Luke laughs, hearing Leia's heels hit the floor as she approaches the table.

"Almost more than it's worth." Han sighs, giving his beer in one long sip.

"Hey Leia, how are you doing?" Luke asks as she takes a seat next to the boys.

"I'm fine." She responds, ignoring Han.

"And the new living arrangements? How is Winter?" Luke questions. It had been the first time since Luke had seen her since she moved from the farm to her best friend's house.

"It is a pain. Winter's landlord is a total drunk and is constantly bugging the girls there." Leia sighs, setting her purse on the table in front of her.

"I do not like the idea of you renting from Fermus Piett." Luke shakes his head, Leia shrugs. Her landlord, Fermus Piett had been involved in numerus sexual harassment trails and been rumoured that he participated in the rape of several women while he was stationed in France and Germany.

"It's fine, I just keep my head down and ignore him."

"Leia, the things he did to those girls." Luke objects.

"I am not one of those girls. He might make the occasional comment but he never has acted on it."

"Somehow that does not calm my nerves." Luke responds, taking a sip of his beer. "You could go live elsewhere."

"Like where? If you can find me a suitable place to live then by all means I will move there. So where do you suggest I go?" Leia asks, throwing her hands in their air.

"Well I mean, you could move back to the farm and well…HAN!" Luke exclaims as he sees the male brunette sitting across from him.

"What? What did I do?" Han asks, finally paying attention to the conversation.

"Well, you're looking for a new tenant. Leia's looking for a place to stay and to get far away from Piett."

"I am not living with him." Leia immediately responds without batting an eye.

"Hey, come on. Not that I want you living with me but, I would be a joy to live with and you would be so lucky to live with me." Han says, placing his beer down.

"Please, I bet you anything your house is filthy and you are on the verge of being thrown out."

"Not likely princess, my landlady adores me."

"I highly doubt that. You are the most insufferable man I have ever met."

"You just say that just because you truly care for me." Han smirks, leaning over towards Leia.

"I care for you?" Leia repeats in disbelief and begins to laugh. "Your even more egotistical than I thought."

"Please, you do and you are just too afraid to admit it." Han says, rubbing it in further. Leia rolls her eyes and physically turns towards Luke.

"I'm fine where I am." She repeats, grabbing her purse as she stands and walks away.

"Han…She really needs a new place." Luke says, hoping to appeal to his friend.

"She doesn't want to Kid, there's nothing you can do about it." Han shrugs. Luke stares at the brunette, thinking how to convince him to allow Leia to move in. "Well, I gotta head out. Take it easy kid."

Han says, placing his money on the table as he leaves. Han looks both ways when he leaves the building, recognizing her form as she walks down the street. Han turns to go the opposite direction but stops, and changes his mind, following after her.

"Leia." He calls out, breaking into a jog to catch up with her. She stops and reluctantly turns when she hears her name.

"What do you want?" She asks, putting her hands on her hips.

"Listen, this isn't easy for me. But, um you are always welcome to come stay with me…permanently." Han says, scratching his head.

"Look, if your trying to make up for your comments earlier you can forget it. I don't need your pity."

"I'm not, I'm just telling ya and hoping you'll take up my offer so Luke will take it easy. He really cares for you and obviously wants to see you out of that boarding house." Han rolls his eyes, unimpressed at the young woman immediate reaction to him.

He pulls out a cigarette, placing one in his mouth. He holds out the pack, offering one to Leia, who just shakes her head to refuse.

"My father used to say, 'that one day they'll prove those things will kill ya.' I used to trade my cigarettes to the other girls for other items, sometimes for chocolate or gum depending on what we got for rations." Leia responds. Han chuckles, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I used to do that occasionally. But we used to steal rations from the army here and there, you know when those new guys came and they'd get all the good stuff. Guy I knew actually took off with a pair of moccasins that belonged to some corporal or some fancy guy like that." Han takes a drag of his cigarette, smiling as he remembers the good times he had on those damn islands.

"Did your superior know what was going on?" Leia asks, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Yeah, he even took part in the stealing. I'm pretty sure I traded canned peaches for ammunition or something like that." Han responds. Leia smiles at the notion of Han, dirty and sweaty from the tropics getting his hands on whatever he could before getting caught by the US army and trading it for useful items on the battlefield.

"But uh, after Guadalcanal we didn't see much of those shipments coming in. I probably didn't see things like canned peaches until I was wou-…" Han stops himself, realizing he had gone too far. "Listen Leia, I really think you should come stay with me. I won't try anything funny or comment about your undying love for me, but I really think you need to get away from Piett. Guys like him are scum and…are not to be trusted. Think it over."

Han walks away from her, going the opposite direction to go home. Leia stands on the sidewalk, her arms still wrapped around her waist; thinking about what he said. She sighs and begins to walk back her the boarding house.

She silently opens the door, peeking into the living room to see Piett passed out the couch. She sighs in relief and makes her way upstairs as quietly as she could. When she enters her room, she jumps at the sight of someone sitting on her bed.

"Jesus…" She curses, her heart pounding in her chest as she recognizes it to be Winter.

"Calm down, it's just me. Now get in here and lock the door behind you. Piett was drinking this afternoon and was in a particularly lecherous mood."

"Winter, you can't let him feel you up like that."

"Are you kidding me? We all know that if he laid a hand on me, I would flatten him in ten seconds. He won't touch you because well you're Senator Organa's daughter and your untouchable."

"I really dislike it when you say that." Leia sighs.

"Well it's true. No one in this town will lay a finger on you because every official will have something to say about that or come to your aid."

"That's a flat out lie and you know it."

"Well you and I know that, but not everyone does." Winter smirks, allowing space on the bed.

"Winter, what is it that you want?" Leia asks, sitting on the now free space on her bed.

"Well, you know how I've been wanting to get out of this hell hole for a while now? I've finally found a new boarding house."

"Really?"

"Yes, it's run by this middle-aged woman who lost her husband in the war and she's decided to let a room out to me."

"That's wonderful." Leia smiles, surprised it had taken Winter so little time to find a new place to stay."

"I do feel bad though. Leaving you here alone with that drunkard." Winter gives her best friend an apologetic look, obviously conflicted about the situation.

"Don't worry about me, cause as it happens I have found a place of my own as well." Leia says, without really processing the thought that she would have to live with Han Solo.


	9. All the Ladies

Music quietly echoes through the small living room, Leia fast asleep on the couch. Her untouched tea slowly chilling on the coffee table. Heavy steps move towards her, clumsy and dragging.

"Hey Princess." A voice whispers next to her ear. Leia stirs, her brow creasing in her sleep as the voice echoes through. "Leia wakeup." Leia slowly opens her eyes, revealing Han crouching next to her, her face quite close to hers.

"Han…You reek." Leia says, turning away from the obviously drunk man. He looks at her, his gaze narrowing.

"Well you don't smell so nice yourself sweetheart." Han says, taking offense to her comment.

"Han, go to bed." Leia orders, not turning to face him.

"Only if you join me." Han jokes, trying to get a rise out of the young woman. Leia sighs, slowly rising off the couch. She stares at the inebriated man, quietly debating to pick a fight with him. She slowly stands and moves past him.

"Goodnight Han." She calls, walking to her bedroom.

"Where you goin'?" He asks, perplexed that she wouldn't immediately pick a fight. Leia closes her door tightly behind her. She crawls into her bed, not bothering to change into a nightgown. She closes her eyes and uneasily lets herself fall asleep.

….

Leia stood in the kitchen, pouring coffee into a mug. She turns to see Han trudging into the kitchen, wearing the same clothing he wore the night before. He stops and winces at the sunlight pouring into the room.

"Good morning Han." Leia says in a loud high voice, feigning joy of seeing the man.

"Mornin' is there any coffee left?" Han asks.

"Oh, sorry I took the last. I can make some more." Leia says, still not lowering her voice.

"It's fine, I'll grab some later." Han excuses, Leia ignore the man and begins grinding the coffee beans. Han winces at the sound and excuses himself from the kitchen back to his bedroom. Leia stops her motion, a smile breaking out across her face.

 _"It is nice to see you smile."_ Chewie comments watching Leia from the archway. Leia's smile disappears, only understanding half of his sentence.

"More coffee Chewie?" Leia asks, the larger man nods and walks back to the living room. Leia pours the grounds into the old moka pot on the stove. Leia walks away from the stove and makes her way down the hallway to Han's room. She knocks loudly, and opens the door slightly

"Coffee is almost ready, I suggest you get there before Chewie."

"Okay." Han opens the door fully, his pants sitting low on his hip and completely shirtless. Leia stares at him, completely forgetting what she was going to say. Han notices this, a smirk spreading across his face. "See something you like sergeant?"

Leia rolls her eyes and pulls herself away from his doorway going back to the kitchen. She picks up her mug and stares at the pot, lifting it she can tell Chewie had come for his mug already. She picks up the pot and dumps the remainder down the sink, placing it back onto the stove top.

Han walks into the kitchen, he grabs a mug from the cupboard. He moves towards the stove and picks up the moka pot, his eyebrows knit together as he feels the weight of the pot. He attempts to pour what may remain of the coffee into his mug, only to get a few small drops. Han turns to face Leia, who was now sitting at the kitchen table.

"What the hell?" Han asks. Leia shrugs her shoulders.

"Huh, Chewie must've gotten the last of it. Looks like you'll have to make more." Leia smiles, standing up from the table. Han's glare follows Leia as she moves across the kitchen to the living room, where she sits with Chewie. Han looks over to the coffee grinder, debating his need for coffee, eventually sighing in defeat and going back to bed.

….

Leia walks down the street, listening silently as Winter chats away to her. Leia smiles as her friend speaks on, the brunette tuning out most of the conversation.

"oh, here comes trouble." Winter whispers, taking Leia's arm in hers to keep her close. Leia looks up and notices an older woman approaching them on the street, a maid carrying packages into a building.

"And careful with those." Her shrill voice calls after the woman. The middle-aged woman looks towards the girls approaching. "Leia, my dear." She outreaches her arms to Leia, who doesn't reciprocate the action.

"Mrs. Hapes, it's good to see you." Leia responds, tightening her hold on Winter.

"As it's good to see you dear. I haven't seen you since the funeral, how are you doing my dear?"

"I'm fine. Thank you. You look well."

"Thank you my dear. As do you, despite…. circumstances." The woman with graying red hair hesitates.

"Thank you…." Leia pauses, not sure how to respond. "What circumstances are those?"

"Well I heard your living in…undesirable conditions."

"Undesirable?" Leia asks, unsure of what the older woman speaks of.

"Well living with an colored man and a…well I'm not sure what to think of the other. Both unmarried as well. It does not look good for your standing my dear."

"Well actually, Chewie is married. And in current circumstances I highly doubt people care about my social standing."

"Well, the colored man being married is hardly any-"

"It was good to see you again Mrs. Hapes. But Winter and I must really be leaving." Leia says, cutting off the woman. Leia begins to walk, dragging Winter with her.

"She has a point, you living with Han is quiet questionable." Winter says as they walk a safe distance away.

"Anyone who would willingly live with Han is questionable. The day I care what Thelma Hapes has to say about me is the day I want you to throw me into the river and drown me." Leia responds, letting go of Winter's arm.


	10. All About You

Leia laughs as she watches a young man in uniform dance around the bar, stumbling along to the music as his friends cheer him on. Luke stands by the bar with Kes, nursing the beer in his hand as he shakes his head at the private. Leia turns away from the entertainment back to her drink, noticing it empty.

"You want me to get you another one?" Han asks from the chair beside her.

"It's fine, I can get my own." She responds, grabbing her glass and standing up from the table. As she begins to walk away from the table the intoxicated dancing man bumps into her, sending her stumbling back a few steps before falling backwards.

She feels two arms wrap around her before she can hit the floor, she looks back and sees Han had caught her. The force from her body jolts him back, causing him to fall back into his chair with Leia in his lap.

"Let me go." Leia demands, struggling to escape his arms.

"Wait a minute." Han answers, not letting go of the young woman. The drunk man stumbles past the couple once more, heading for his pals in the corner.

"Let me go, please." She pleads, trying to pry his arms off her.

"Don't get excited."

"Private, being held by you isn't enough to get excited." Leia challenges. Han stands up, pushing Leia up as he does so.

"Sorry sweetheart. I haven't got time for anything else." He winks, grabbing her glass from her hand and leaves for the bar. Leia pauses, pursing her lips in anger and sitting back down in her chair, attempting to stop herself from becoming flustered.

Luke makes his way back to the table, sitting down where Han used to sit.

"He really is something, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he definitely is." Leia mutters in response, not finding the resolve to look the blonde in the eye.

"You seem on edge, are you alright Leia?"

"I'm fine Luke."

"You seem flustered. Are you sure?"

"I said, I am fine." Leia answers. Han returns to the table, setting her drink in front of her.

"You're welcome." He says, sitting down in his chair with a beer.

"I didn't say thank you."

"You don't have to be so rude." Han retorts, getting irritated by her attitude.

"If you weren't so pompous, there'd be no reason to be rude." Leia snaps back, taking a small sip of her drink before excusing herself from the table to go sit with Winter, who sat with a few other women.

Luke chuckles at the exchange between the two, sipping on his beer.

"Yeah, laugh it up kid." Han responds, rolling his eyes.

"Well what do you think of her Han? One moment you want to kill her, the next you want to settle down with her." Luke says.

"Hey, it's not like that."

"Well what is it like?"

"I don't know, you think her and a guy like me?"

"No." Luke responds, not letting Han finish his sentence. Han looks over at the younger man, his eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I see." Han laughs. "Well she does have spirit, I'll give ya that."

Luke stares at Han, not understanding the implications of Han's sentence. Luke's eyes grow wide in realization and begins shaking his head.

"No, it's not like that." Luke responds.

"Sure, it's not." Han smirks, nodding his head as he takes a sip of his beer. Luke opens his mouth, trying to think of a response but decides to shut his mouth to end the discussion.

Luke stares over to the table of women, noticing a certain brunette stealing glances their way. He rolls his eyes, wondering when she was going to finally admit her feelings for him.

It had been a quiet evening, Chewie had been called out on a job which left Han and Leia on their own for dinner.

Han had decided Leia was useless in the kitchen and sent her away. Leia remains quiet but smirks to herself as she listens to Han curse away in the kitchen as she reads her book in the living room.

"You doing alright?" Leia yells from the other room.

"M fine." He responds

"Alright." Leia chuckles, continuing to listen to Han's struggle in the kitchen. Smiling, she turns her attention back to the copy of _Grapes of Wrath_ in her hands.

"GODDAMN IT." She hears a yell from the kitchen again, she suppresses a laugh; not wanting to anger him any further. Her attention wavers again as she notices the lights flicker off and then back on again. It happens a few more times before the room goes completely dark.

"Fuck, what is it this time?" he grumbles, moving into the dark living room. "What did you do?"

"Excuse me?" Leia asks.

"Did you unplug that light? I told ya not to touch it, that outlet fries everything."

"You're honestly blaming me? It could have been you, banging around in the kitchen." Leia declares. A knock at the door echoes through the apartment. Leia hears shuffling through the living room, she smiles and shakes her head as she listens to him grumbling as he makes his way to the door.

Upon opening the door a little light shines into the apartment from a small candle.

"Han, the power has gone off through the building. I think it must be the breaker. Can you and Chewie go and fix it?" A woman's Irish accent echoes through the dark apartment.

"Of course Mrs. Kirk. We'll go right away." Han acknowledges

"Thank you dear." The middle aged Irish woman walks away from the door, trusting the man and his companion to take care of the problem.

"Goddamn kids." Han curses, not bothering to close the door. "Hey princess, I need you to come with me."

Han makes his way to the kitchen, grabbing a flashlight from under the sink. He switches it on, flinching at the sudden brightness of the room. He walks back to the living room, shining the light at Leia. She raises her hand, blocking the light from her eyes.

"Come on." Han calls out, slipping his shoes on. Leia stands from the couch, slipping her shoes which sat in front the sofa. She smooths out her plaid skirt, looking around the room adjusting to the light. Leia walks to the door, leaving the apartment.

"You coming or not?" She asks smirking as she looks a Han behind her.

"Very funny princess." Han rolls his eyes, shutting the door behind him. They walk silently down the hall, making their way to the stairs. Han opens the door, letting Leia into the breaker room first before following in behind her. Han walks over to the box, beckoning Leia to his side. "Hold this." He says, handing her the flashlight as he opens the box.

"Yeah just as I thought, goddamn kids screwin' around with the breakers. Okay, I'm gonna go make sure those kids didn't fuck around with some other things. I need you to flip these switches." Han takes the flashlight from her and walks away, leaving Leia in the dark. She feels around the box, finding the switches and flipping them on. The room becomes dimly lit, she goes to close the box, finding that the door wouldn't close properly.

She groans in frustration after trying to close it for the second time. She tries slamming it down a third time, with no result. She keeps the door closed, trying to maneuver the door shut. She feels arms wrap around her, placing his hands over hers as they try to help her close the door. Leia looks over, seeing Han behind her. She slams her body against his, trying to get him to back away.

"Hey your worship, I'm only trying to help." Han defends himself.

"Stop calling me that." Leia grits her teeth, still trying to close it. She hits her hand against the metal, sending shooting pains through her arm.

"Sure, Leia." He responds, her name sounding awkward on his tongue.

"You really enjoy making things so difficult."

"I do, I really do. You could be nicer though, I'm not all that bad."

"Occasionally, perhaps. When you're not being insufferable."

"Insufferable? I'm insufferable? I can live with that." He smirks, starting to massage her injured hand.

"Stop that." She orders.

"Stop what?"

"That. My hands are dirty." She responds, her voice softening.

"So? My hands are dirty too." He says, continuing to rub her hands. She pulls them away abruptly. "What are you so afraid of?"

"Afraid? I'm not afraid."

"You're trembling." He says, backing her into a corner. Leia's back hits the wall.

"No, I am not."

"I think you like me because I'm a scoundrel. There isn't enough of us in your life."

"No, I think your insufferable. I like nice men." Leia argues.

"So? I'm a nice man."

"You're delusional."

"Maybe so." Han smirks, leaning in closer pressing his lips to hers. Leia surprises herself responding to his kiss. Han moans, her lips were softer than he imagined; still not quite believing she was letting her kiss him. He pulls away, smirking still.

"Okay hotshot." Leia says, knowing two could play this game. She pulls him back, hungrily kissing him once more, enjoying the feeling of his lips on hers. She pushes him away and exits the room abruptly. Leaving Han bewildered and extremely happy.

Authors note:

Sorry for the wait, I've been extremely busy. please excuse my poor editing skills as well.

XOXO Tamorasky.


	11. Last Call

Leia stared at the tea in front of her as the women in front of her chattered on.

"Lelia, how is your…new living arrangement?" The one woman asks, Leia looks up at her Aunt Celly.

"It's fine, it is a good place to live." Leia responds.

"I have to say Lelia, I don't know if I can support you living with two unmarried men." Rogue comments.

"One unmarried man." Leia corrects, taking a sip of her tea.

"What's that dear?"

"One unmarried man. Chewie is married, Han is not." Leia repeats.

"Oh, yes well. Even so, I would've been much more comfortable if you came and lived with us." Rogue says, reaching across the table and grabbing the younger woman's hands.

"I appreciate the sentiment Aunt Rogue. But I would rather not move to the city."

"Well dear, how do you expect to make anything of yourself while you're here. Living with an unmarried man. If you came to Baltimore, you could make next season for your coming out. I mean your slightly older, but 19 isn't too late."

"Yes, and we could make a trip to Manhattan for your dress and get Veronica to style your hair." Celly interjects.

"We could get a dress specially made." Tia adds. All of Leia's aunts squeal in delight at the thought of their first indulgence since the war.

"Mother hated debutante balls. She used to say that those balls are old fashioned and have no place in our society."

"Yes, she did. Your lovely mother, the suffragette." Rogue sighs, knowing her niece would not permit a coming out.

"I am fine where I am. Han and Chewie have been very generous."

"Lelia, we are just worried what people will say about you living with…Han." Celly comments, hesitating to name him.

"What people are saying about you and Han." Rogue adds, emphasizing the 'are'. Leia coughs, her tea catching in her throat.

"What?" She asks, her heart pounding. The three women look at each other, unsure if they should respond.

"There have been several rumors in town that Han and you are having an…illicit affair." Tia responds. Leia's flushes a light pink, thinking about her and Han's interaction the other night.

"Well you don't have to worry about that. Han is the most insufferable man I've ever met." Leia takes a sip of her tea, hoping that the flush went unnoticed.

...

Han watched as Leia talked with Winter at the bar, the brunette laughing at her friend's words. He couldn't help but smirk when she smiled, a rare occurrence but whenever she did the room always seemed a little brighter.

She wore her hair in loose curls, the front part up in victory rolls. She wore a simple floral beige a line dress that stopped at her knees. Her smile drops as she looks over to the table, staring at him. Winter hits Leia's arm, stealing her attention back.

Han stands abruptly from the table, her chugs the rest of his beer and slams the empty glass down on the table. He walks over to the bar towards the two women. Winter notices Han walking towards them, and taps Leia on her bicep before pointing to the man walking towards them. Leia turns briefly to see him before turning back to her friend and whispers something to her.

"Hi Han." Winter says sweetly as he comes to stand next to Leia. Han smiles at Winter before turning to Leia.

"Are you leaving?" Leia asks, staring down at her drink.

"Yeah, I was thinkin' of it. You gonna come?"

"I might as well." Leia finishes the last of her wine, placing the empty glass on the bar.

"Okay, I'll see you later darling." Winter leans forward, giving Leia a half hug and a kiss on her cheek.

"Yes, I'll be in touch this week about that job." Leia says. She breaks away, walking with Han out of the bar. He holds the door open for her. she stops to look at the man before shuffling out of the door, Han following closely behind her.

"You gettin' a job?" Han asks, rushing forward to catch up the short brunette.

"Yeah, Winter has a friend who is leaving her job as a secretary. Winter thinks I'd be a good fit."

"Yeah, if bookkeeping requires an uppity nymph to do the job." Han shrugs his shoulders, slipping his hands into his pockets. Leia stops, falling behind him.

"I'm uppity? You clearly need to re-evaluate yourself flyboy." She shakes her head, catching back up to the man.

"Who you calling flyboy? I was a marine."

"Oh pardon me." She says insincerely, a smile breaking out across her face. Han smirks in response, finding her smile contagious. Leia catches his gaze, her smile not leaving her face. "Where were you stationed?"

Han's smiles drops slightly, slightly surprised at the question.

"I went all over the place. I'm not fully convinced I wasn't in hell."

"Han, be serious."

"I am. One moment it'd be hot as hell and the next it would pour rain for five days. You couldn't keep anything dry." Han says, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket to light it. "And you, where were you stationed?"

"I was in England for a few months, then France and finally Germany before I was…. Before I was sent home."

"And you clearly didn't handle explosives."

"Of course not. I was a translator."

"A translator? I didn't realize women were given those positions."

"They typically are not. No one in the division spoke German, when it came to their attention that I was fluent they took the chance and so I spent most of the war questioning prisoners of war and generals." Leia explains, running her hand through her curled hair. "And you? You clearly weren't a medic."

"I was a mortar man. It was a little less relaxing than translating." Han jokes. "You had to move fast. If you were slow you'd get yourself and your squad killed."

"Now flyboy, I told you where I was. Where were you stationed?" Leia asks again, curious if she would get an answer. Han chuckles, shaking his head.

"All over, I was with the first Marines from Guadalcanal, New Britan, Peleliu, and I finished my service in Okinawa."

"I know nothing about the pacific. Luke used to write me when he landed in Normandy and while he was in Belgium." Leia says, Han stiffens at the mention of the other man.

"Yeah? Used to write ya a lot?"

"Yeah he did. Had to keep himself occupied while he froze in a foxhole." Leia shrugs her shoulders.

"It used to rain a lot. I figure it rained for two weeks straight while we were on Cape Gloucester."

"Did it really?"

"Well, don't know about two weeks but between the rain and humidity it felt like you were wet all the god damn time." Han says, scratching the back of his head. Leia smiles, looking down to the pavement.

Han opens the apartment door for them, allowing her to lead in.

"Hey Chewie. We're home." Han calls as he follows her in. The two stop, waiting for the response from the man. "He must've gone out."

"Well no matter. I'm off to bed anyhow."

"You want some company." Han asks, raising his eyebrow suggestively. Leia pauses and rolls her eyes, leaving to her room. Han watches her slam the door behind her. Chuckling he settles down on the couch, grabbing the paper that lay on the coffee table.


	12. Something Stupid

A scream echoes through the apartment, waking Han who had fallen asleep on the couch.

"What the hell?" Han grumbles, sitting up from the couch, rubbing his aching neck. He makes his way over to the window, to find where the scream came from, only to see no one on the street. He remains still, still listening for the source of the sound. He hears a wail and follows it, realizing it was coming from within the apartment. He stops in front of Leia's door; realizing it was coming from her room. Han places on the knob, ready to burst in to wake her from her dream. He feels a hand on his shoulder, turning he notices his friend standing behind him.

 _[Leave her be Han.]_

"Chewie…Shes…"

 _[She needs sleep, I don't believe she has slept in a long time. You try to sleep, I'll wait out here and make sure it doesn't get worse.]_

"Nah, I won't sleep. I'll stay, you go to bed."

 _[Good night cub.]_

"Night Chewie." Han sits on the floor across from her door, feeling somewhat helpless as her cries echo.

…

Han sits at the kitchen table, drinking his coffee in silence when Leia walks into the room.

"Morning." Han says, placing his mug on the table.

"Morning." Leia repeats, pouring herself coffee. She sits down at the table, staring down at her coffee.

"Didn't sleep well?" Han asks, noticing the bags under her eyes.

"Not really." Leia responds, finally taking a sip of her coffee.

"I had problems sleeping too when I first got home. I knew a couple guys who had problems sleeping while they were still on the islands." Han says. Leia looks up at him, slowly processing what he had said. "I remember while I was on Peleliu, it was the dead of night and some guy started to scream in his sleep. Two others went to him to calm him down but he fought them, getting violent and screaming louder. I don't think I ever heard man scream that way." Han goes silent, staring at his coffee.

"What happened to him?" Leia asks, Han looks up blinking re-shifting his focus. "The boy who was screaming, what happened to him?"

"A third guy came along, hit him over the head with a shovel. No one knew he was dead until the morning." He says, going back into a trance.

"I don't understand why you're telling me this." Leia says, standing from the table, leaving her coffee.

"Leia." Han stands, grabbing her wrist as she attempts to leave. "If you need anything, you can come to Chewie or me. We understand." He lets go of her and watches her leave the kitchen without another word. Han stands, grabbing both cups from the table following Leia to the living room.

He places the mug on the coffee table in front of where Leia sits. He makes his way over to the arm chair, he lounges back in it as he sips his coffee.

"What did you used to dream about?" Leia finally asks, hesitant about his response.

"A lot of things, half the time I wouldn't even remember. I'd just wake up covered in sweat and my heart would be pounding. Sometimes I'd dream about the men who died in front of me. But mostly, I dreamt about my time on Okinawa. I'd dream about the women civilians carrying their children as they run through the line of fire. Or the family who was escaping from an occupied section, they stumbled in on the line of fire. They died immediately, they had a little boy with them. He survived the first round, he lay in the mud bleeding out and he reached out to us in hopes we'd rescue him. He was dead when the second round was fired." Han takes a long sip of his coffee, wishing he had something stronger.

"I was wounded in Belgium." Leia states. Han looks up at her, slightly shocked.

"I thought you were in Germany when you got sent home."

"Never quite made it. I was in Elsenborn, a town in Belgium that's very close to the German border. I was heading to the 45th field hospital on a personal call, I had heard a rumor that Luke was there and I thought I'd go see for myself. I got to talking to one of the nurses inquiring about Luke when the hospital came under fire by German artillery. The nurse died shortly after shell exploded near us, shrapnel sliced through her stomach. I was thrown back a fair bit and was knocked out. I didn't even know what wounds I suffered until I was on a boat back to the states."

"Those bastards at least give ya a purple heart?" Han asks, trying to lighten the mood. Leia smiles, her gaze moving to the floor.

"Yeah, they did." Leia nods, her smile still remaining. Han smiles in response, not being able to resist himself.

"You want more coffee?" Han asks, deciding to change the subject.

"Yes please." Leia says, swinging her legs up onto the couch as Han grabs her mug. Leia stares after Han as he leaves, feeling like a weight had lifted off her chest that had been there for years.

Han wanders back into the living room, both mugs in his hands again. He sets down her mug in the same spot it was in before, however taking the seat next to Leia on the couch as opposed to his usual chair.

"The guys are heading back to Maz's tonight. You wanna go with me?" Han asks after a few sips of his coffee.

"I always go with you." Leia says, picking her mug up. Han gives a frustrated sigh as Leia blows on the hot liquid, trying to cool it down.

"Never mind." Han rolls his eye, standing up from the couch.

"Where are you going?" Leia asks as he goes to leave the room.

"I should get down to the shop. Chewie's been there for hours already, it's only fair." Han says, excusing himself to the kitchen to dump his coffee down the sink. He makes his way back towards the entry way, crossing through the living room to leave. Slipping on his shoes, he leaves the apartment without another word.


	13. Heart Skips a Beat

Leia holds Shara's hand in hers as Winter over looks at the ring on the black-haired women's finger.

"I didn't realize it was that serious between you and Kes." Winter comments.

"Well I did move over to the states to be with him." Shara laughs.

"Yeah, I assumed it was because you were with him until some better American came along to scoop you up."

"You honestly believe I'd leave my country to husband hunt?"

"Well, I don't know. I was in England for a few weeks and any guy I saw needed serious dental work." Winter shrugs her shoulders. Both Shara and Leia laugh at Winter's comment.

"So, when are you two planning to wed?" Leia asks.

"Probably in the Autumn. I have no intention on having a long engagement." Shara says, taking a sip of her gin and tonic. Leia smiles at the idea of her friend marrying, the first of her friends to wed. "What about you and Tycho? Any plans to marry?" Shara asks, turning to Winter.

"Don't make me laugh. I wouldn't marry Tycho even if he was the last man on earth." Winter scoffs. Leia rolls her eyes at her friend's comment, knowing the woman was trying to derogate from her relationship with the Navy officer. Winter leaves the group of women and makes her way over to the table where the men sat, she slides next into Tycho with a smile.

"I thought her and Tycho were quite serious." Shara says, confused by the white-haired woman's reaction.

"They are. Winter just doesn't like to admit that marriage may be a part of her life. She feels that by marrying a man it makes her less free."

"What a peculiar thought. I've never felt that way."

"Neither have I. My youngest aunt however feels that way, she got pregnant with my cousin and refused to marry the father because she didn't want to devote her life to a husband."

"How did you family react?" Shara asks, setting down her empty glass.

"My grandparent disinherited her, but my father and other aunts supported her. My three aunts are very close to one another, they live together in the city."

"And your cousin? Where are they?"

"Nial died during the Italy campaign in late '43." Leia responds, looking down to her glass.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It must've been hard for your family."

"I wasn't home when we received the news, but it was quite upsetting. He was the first man I knew to die overseas."

"I can understand. My older brother died at Dunkirk, killed by gunfire. He was buried there, they decided not to use up space on the ships with his body."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you. I like to think that he is buried with good men over there." Shara sighs, thinking of her favorite older brother.

"I'm sure he is." Leia says, reassuring her friend. The two notice Kes stand from the table, beginning to wave Shara over.

"Oh, I'm being summoned. Are you coming Leia?"

"I'll be along in a few moments." Leia says, sipping on her wine. She notices Han staring at her while Luke talked to him. He winks as he notices that he caught her eye. She smiles, and looks down at the ground; finding the resolve to walk over to the table.

As she takes her first steps towards the table, a blonde man cuts off her route.

"Leia, I wasn't expecting to see you here. I thought your frequented the ladies lounge."

"Well you seem to forget that the bar is owned by a woman, Isolder."

"Yeah. Except Maz can handle herself and no self-respecting man would touch her." Leia rolls her eyes in response to him. "Hey, don't take it like that. I'm sure you can handle yourself, I'm just worried there are a lot of guys here who would take advantage of you. Especially since your father isn't here to protect you anymore."

"I appreciate your concern. But, I must be getting back."

"Leia. That's what I'm concerned about. No one knows anything about Solo, he just appeared after the war. I'm concerned about his intentions with you."

"It's not a matter to concern yourself with. If I had any reason to be wary, I would be turning to my family, not yours."

"Is everything alright?" Han asks as he approaches the two.

"Everything is fine." Isolder responds, not taking much notice to the brunette

"Yeah, I wasn't askin' you." Han says pointedly at Isolder before turning to Leia.

"It's fine. I was just saying my goodbyes." Leia responds, smiling at the blonde in front of her.

"Come on Leia. We were having a rather pleasant conversation." Isolder protests.

"I believe Leia was saying goodbye." Han takes a closer step to Isolder, readying to take physical action if needed. Leia grasps Han's bicep, trying to calm him and step away from the issue.

"Han, care for a dance?" Leia asks, changing the subject. Han looks down to Leia, a smirk extending on his face.

"I'd love nothing more sweetheart." Han grabs the same hand that rested on his bicep, making a scene out of the display. Han leads her to the floor, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close.

"Han, your too close." Leia states.

"So? what do you care?"

"People will talk. People have been talking."

"Do I look like I care what people think?"

"Not really."

"Then calm down princess." Han smirks, pulling her closer. Leia feels her face flush as their chests touch. Han leans down, "I think you kinda like the attention sweetheart." He whispers in her ear.

"Do you know what boundaries are?" Leia asks, pulling her head away from him.

"I've been told I do not." Han smirks. Leia shakes her head in response as they continue to sway. They listen to the jazz music that plays in the building, the saxophonist catching their attention as the player was playing slightly off key.

"What kind of shit is this?" Han asks, breaking the silence.

"I'm not quite sure if anyone knows." Leia chuckles. Han smiles at her laugh, loving the way she looked when she smiles.

"I've got better at home. You wanna go?" Han asks.

"Yeah, sure. Let me grab my coat." Leia reluctantly breaks away from Han, making her way to the table where her coat sat with Luke. She grabs the woolen coat from the back of Luke's chair, slipping it on.

"Are you heading home?" Winter asks, Tycho's arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah. I think Han has had enough of the music." She says, buttoning up the long coat. "Goodnight." She says, kissing Luke on the cheek before exiting the building with Han.

"So, you and Luke are pretty close huh?" Han questions as they walk down the sidewalk.

"I would say so. We've been together forever. He's a large part of my life." Leia responds, tucking her hands into her pockets.

"Is he now? A large as me?" Han asks, stopping in his tracks. Leia turns as she notices he was no longer next to her.

"What are you asking Han?"

"You know what I'm asking." He says, taking a few steps towards her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Leia turns to walk away, Han grasps her wrist and pulls her to him. Touching his lips to hers, he pulls her in tightly, deepening the kiss. Han pulls away from her, his thumb stroking her cheek.

"I think you do." He smirks.

"I do?" Leia smiles in response.

"I'm certain." He nods. Leia chuckles, pulling him down for another kiss. She pulls away from him. She removes her wrist from Han's hand, replacing it with her hand.

"Let's go home hotshot." She smiles. Leading him down the street, hand in hand with each other.


	14. Lost Regard

Luke stares at the two as Han opens the door for the petite brunette. He smiles at the other man's gesture, taking a sip of his beer. He knew Han irritated Leia beyond belief, but he often observed she was happiest around him.

"When are those two going to fuck?" a voice asks, breaking Luke from his thoughts.

"Winter!" Shara exclaims, slamming her drink onto the table.

"What? I am not the only one who is curious, it's almost been half a year and no one can deny he wants his hands in her skirt just as much as she wants her hands in his pants.

"There is no need to be crude about it." Shara says, twisting the glass of water with her fingers.

"Please Shara, everyone at this table knows you are not a prude when it comes to matters of the bedroom. Didn't want to have a long engagement? Please you both know Kes' parents would kill you both to have a child out of wedlock." Winter says, taking a sip of her white wine.

Everyone looks to the couple at the end, Shara's face flushed the bright red and Kes smiling wide.

"Why didn't ya tell us?" Wedge punches Kes lightly in the arm, before placing his arm around his friend.

"We weren't going to start telling people till after the wedding and once I found a job." Kes admits, scratching the back of his head.

"Well I believe a congratulation is in order." Luke speaks up, smiling at his friends' joyful news. He looks over to the empty seat, knowing someone was missing.

"I need another drink, Tycho escort me to the bar." Winter stands, holding her arm out waiting on her beau. The man reluctantly stands and takes her by the arms to take her to the bar.

"We should be heading home anyhow. I have an early morning." Shara announces, placing her coat on. The group of friends say their goodbyes to one another, leaving only Wedge and Luke at the table.

"Biggs would have loved hearing that." Wedge comments, noticing Luke's lingering stare at the empty spot.

"Yeah, He would've."

"It's funny, isn't it? Biggs was the first to sign up and of all of us he's the true hero."

"I think he would've liked that. He was always trying to surpass us." Luke chuckles as they remember their friend.

"Yeah he would have. I remember asking Corinna A'Daasha out and Biggs went out of his way to outdo me to convince her to go out with him instead."

"I remember that. Biggs wouldn't shut up when he managed to get a date with her."

"What a prick." Wedge laughs.

"Yeah. That he was." Luke chuckles, smiling sadly as they think of their since passed friend.

"I remember before we shipped out, he was making jokes about how if any of us were going to die a hero it would be him. Who knew that the crazy bastard would be right."

"While I was in Belgium I remember sitting in a foxhole. A German Bf-109 came overhead was firing randomly into the forest, and this Bell P-59 flew overhead and started chasing the Bf-109, drawing the fire away from us." Luke smiles recalling the memory. "I always imagined it was Biggs, protecting us. I didn't know his plane had been shot down over France five months before."

"I got a letter from his mother while I was stationed in Italy. I had been out flying that day, doing surveillance and when I went back the letter was waiting for me in my tent. I snuck off into the closest town and got so drunk I couldn't remember the night. I woke up the next day with a blinding headache and my officers standing over my bed." Wedge smiles at the memory of the stern officers, unimpressed with his insubordination.

"What did they do to you?"

"They threw me in a cell overnight. Decided not to punish me because they knew pilots weren't expendable."

"You smooth talked your way out of it?" Luke questions. Finishing off his beer.

"I absolutely talked my way out of it." Wedge laughs, Luke smiles at the sound of laughter from his friend. He reaches into his pocket, grabbing a cigarette from his coat along with his lighter. As he lights the cigarette he watches the red-haired waitress move towards their table with three beers.

"Thanks Mara." He says as she places the drinks on the table.

"I don't understand why you two assholes insist on purchasing three beers. What? You two gonna split that third one?"

"Yeah, we're gonna share it. Mind your own business Mara." Wedge says.

"I will when you actually have business that is worth knowing." Mara retorts, raising her eyebrow and walks away from the table.

"She's a piece of work. God help the poor man who ends up with her."

"I don't think she's the type of girl who needs to be with a man."

"Man, you and Leia must be spending a lot of time together. She's filling your head with her feminist ideals." Wedge laughs, reaching over to grab the new pint. "What does she think of Mara?"

"I don't know what she thinks of Mara. Nor do I care." Luke responds, also grabbing a beer.

"You still doing that magic thing with old Ben?"

"It's not magic Wedge. It's meditation."

"Yeah but like you manipulate objects and stuff, right?"

"No, I don't" Luke shakes his head. "It's an ideal that everything has a natural order or an organizing principle. It's a Chinese philosophy."

"Well, I don't know anything about that." Wedge shrugs.

"Clearly." Luke retorts, staring at the last pint sitting on the table. Wedge finds himself staring at the full glass as well. A sad silence lingers as the two ponder of their late friend.

"You think he knew he was going to die when his plane went down?" Wedge finally asks, the question lingering on his mind.

"Probably."

"You think he suffered?" Luke goes silent at Wedge's second question, taking a moment to think on it.

"I think he was…content. As you said, he always gloated that he would be the one to die a hero and he did." Luke responds.

"To Biggs." Wedge says, raising his glass in the air.

"To Biggs." Luke repeats both the words and gesture. The two men lower their glasses, clinking them with the third glass that would have belonged to their dear friend.


	15. Scattered and Small

The couple walks in the middle of the quiet street, Han turns his head a few times to make sure no cars were approaching. Leia stops in the street, Han walks forward before realizing that she wasn't catching up with him. He stops and turns.

"You alright Princess?" Han asks, walking back towards her.

"I'm fine. My shoes are driving me insane." She struggles to catch her balance, on habit she reaches forward, placing a hand on his chest to steady herself. She yanks the heeled shoe off of her one foot, and switches to the other. She leans over and picks up the shoes, losing about an inch of height in her bare feet.

"If you don't find 'em comfortable why wear 'em?" Han asks.

"Aunty Rogue bought them for me. I'm not wasting her money by not wearing them."

"Then why get 'em in the first place?"

"She and Celly insisted I get them. They thought if I had a suitable wardrobe It may help me…. well…it doesn't matter."

"No, help you what?"

"Help me find a husband." Leia sighs, feeling somewhat embarrassed saying the words out loud.

"Any man will do?" Han smirks while asking.

"A suitable man, not a scoundrel." Leia responds, smacking his arm.

"A scoundrel? What happened to being insufferable?"

"One can be both a scoundrel and insufferable." Leia smirks, walking away from Han. He reaches out and grabs her wrist, pulling her back.

"I don't think it works like that sweetheart." Han pulls her close, his face inches from her.

"Why wouldn't it?" Leia places her hands on his chest and pushes him away. "And cool it hotshot, I'm not that easy."

Leia saunters away from him, her shoes still in her hand. Han runs his hand through his hair, smirking as he watches her walk away. He follows, picking up his pace to catch up with her.

"Well I'll let ya in on a secret Princess." Han says, making Leia look up at him. "I'm not that easy either. I am proud to say I am resistant to your South Atlantic charms."

"Are all Midwesterners immune to our charms? Or only you?"

"I wouldn't know. I'm not Midwestern."

"You're not?" Leia asks.

"Nope, not originally at least." Han shrugs.

"Where are you from?"

"It doesn't matter much."

"Han, where?"

"It doesn't matter. I haven't been back for years." Han stares ahead, avoiding eye contact with her. She furrows her eyebrows, not understanding his hesitance to talk about his home.

"Why Aldera?" Leia asks, leaving his origin alone.

"We were sent to Melbourne for a time after Guadalcanal and while we were stationed there, there was an ad about this town. Chewie really liked the look of the town, we weren't able to go back to New Orleans. So, he decided after the war to come here and like a fool I followed."

"But, it isn't all that bad, is it?" Leia asks. Han looks at the short brunette and smiles, taking her hand in his.

"Nah, it's not all that bad." He sighs, squeezing her hand in his. The two of them continue walking down the street together to their home. Han holds the door open for her, letting her enter the apartment building before him.

"thanks." Leia says as she walks past him. The walk up the stairs to their apartment silently, the creaking of the stairs echoing through the building. Leia grabs her keys from her purse, unlocking the door for the both of them. In turn, she steps aside as she opens the door, allowing Han to go first.

"Shouldn't that be my job?"

"I don't believe holding the door open is a gendered task." Leia remarks.

"Alright. Thanks." Han walks past her into the apartment. Leia places her shoes down at the front entrance. The two go completely silent as they hear a low rumble through the apartment.

"What is that?" Leia asks.

"I think Chewie might've fallen asleep on the couch." Han responds, slipping his own shoes off. "How we ever slept in the same quarters I'll never know."

"I'm surprised you slept at all during the war."

"Yeah, well most nights I didn't. But some nights I couldn't help it." Han shrugs. The two walk down the hall until reaching Leia's room.

"Well I should be going to bed, I have an interview tomorrow." Leia says, opening her door.

"You know I could give you some company." Han smirks, teasing the brunette.

"Goodnight Han." Leia slips into her room, closing the door behind her. She unzips her floral skirt, allowing it to naturally fall to the floor. She unbuttons her white blouse and shrugs it off. She walks over to the small bed and picks up her nightgown on the duvet. She slips the straps of her slip off of her shoulders, allowing the silk piece to fall around her feet. Leia slides the night gown over her head.

The material made sent a chill through her body, her nipples hardening at the contact. She turns the lamp on her bedside table on, and goes to flip the overhead light off. She stops before she gets into the bed, hesitant about going to the bed.

"Maybe I should've take Han's offer." She chuckles to herself. She crawls into the bed under the duvet. She doesn't turn off the light immediately, instead she looks around the room, memorizing every shadow and corner in the small space. She feels her eyelids grow heavy and allows herself to fall asleep.

…

Han sat at the kitchen table with Chewie, drinking coffee both of them waiting to get into the bathroom.

[How much longer will she be?]

"I don't know Chewie. She said she had an interview today so who knows what she's all doing."

Both men perk up as they hear the door open, Leia saunters into the kitchen. Her hair had been curled and pinned away from her face. Her cheeks were bright and pink, giving her face some color.

"You look…" Han trails off, staring at the way the black pencil skirt she wore hugged her hips and how the short jacket accentuated her waist. Leia smirks at Han's lost thought.

"What's the matter hotshot?" She asks.

"I've never seen you so…dressed up. Much less wear makeup."

"I thought the lipstick might be too much, but I think it adds a level of sophistication." Leia smiles, showing off her bright red lipstick.

"You look fantastic." Han remarks.

"Thanks Han." Leia says, she leans over and pecks him on the cheek. "I will be home in the later afternoon."

Chewie smiles at the woman, before speaking to her.

"He says good luck." Han translates.

"Thanks Chewie." Leia says, leaving the kitchen. She slips her black pumps on before leaving the house.

"I wouldn't often say this but, thank God for those aunts of hers." Han says, continuing to drink his coffee. Chewie chuckles, standing up from the dining room chair.

 **Author's Note:**

Alright! I AM BACK! Sorry I'm a history major at University so I've had so many papers and exams to do at school and haven't had any energy to write this story. I also re-wrote this chapter at least 3 times because I wasn't happy with it until now. Anyway, I should be writing more frequently now.

-Tamora Sky.


	16. Rattle My Bones

Leia sat quietly in front of the receptionist in the quiet office. The sound of her typing echoing through the room. Leia looked at the women, her white hair was securely tied up as she types material into the typewriter.

Leia looks down at her shoe as it tapped against the floor. The older woman looks up from her typewriter.

"You're gonna wear it out if you keep doing that." She says, looking back to the typewriter.

"My shoe?" Leia asks, not understanding the statement.

"No, the floor." The woman responds, lighting a cigarette. Leia bobs her head, not responding to the woman. Out of habit Leia runs her hands over her thighs to smooth out her skirt.

"Leia." A voice calls, catching the young woman's attention. Leia looks up to see one of her father's oldest friends appear from the door. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Tarkin's men don't let you off until they discuss every matter in great detail."

"That's alright Mon, I don't mind waiting." Leia says, standing to meet the redhead. The middle-aged woman reaches out, embracing her. The hug was awkward, neither of them unable to decide whether this meeting was a professional one or a personal.

"Please, come into my office." Mon Mothma places her hand on Leia's back, ushering the woman into her office. Leia stands to the side, waiting for Mon to sit down. "Please sit."

Leia takes a seat in the old chair across from Mon.

"Alright, So Doris gave me your resume." The older woman states, looking over the piece of paper. "You have had no formal education?"

"No, once I graduated school I immediately signed up for the women's corps."

"How old are you?"

"I'll be 21 in May." Leia responds, Mon looks up from the resume over to the brunette.

"21 was the minimum age to sign up for the Women's Corps."

"It's easier to lie about your age on paper than one would think." Leia responds, not breaking eye contact with the woman. Mon chuckles, shaking her head.

"How did Bail feel about that?"

"It wasn't him that needed convincing, it was my mother."

"Breha? Now that does surprise me. Your mother was the most devoted suffragette I'd known."

"She was proud of me, but worried. She didn't want anything to happen to me."

"Well, you were the light of her life. You know her and your father tried for many years to have children and the day you came into their life, was the happiest I had ever seen them. On your christening, she wouldn't let anyone hold you, she just held you for the whole day." Mon smiles sadly, remembering her dearest friends.

"Mon, I hope you're not considering me for this job based on who my parents are."

"No, I am not. However, if you are anything like your father I know you will be a good and hard worker."

"What exactly will I be doing?"

"I need someone in the back, to file documents and organize my affairs. Doris, will stay on as my secretary, making meetings. But as she gets older there are a few tasks she is unable preform anymore. But for the most part I will be asking you to attend meetings with me and writing notes as we go." Mon explains. "Now the subject of your payment. How does 65 cents an hour sound?"

"65 cents?" Leia repeats

"I would offer more, but since the war I've had to hire on several men for jobs."

"No, it's fine. That's more money than any of my friend's make."

"Well it's settled then." Mon stands from the chair, Leia follows suit and shakes the woman's extended hand. "You start on Monday the 21st."

"Thank you Mon." Leia moves to leave.

"Leia." The older woman calls. Leia turns to face her. "Are you still living with that man?"

"Han? Yes I am." Leia responds, her hand resting on the door knob.

"I could arrange other arrangements for you."

"Thank you Mon. But I'm fine where I am, Chewie's not a bad cook when you get used to his style of cooking."

"Well…um….Chewie is not the one I am concerned about. It's the other man. However, if you insist you are fine I will leave it alone. Just, be careful around him." Mon warns, staring after the young woman as she leaves the office. Leia looks over at the receptionist, who glares at her as she leaves.

She lightly closes the door as she leaves the building.

"How'd it go?" A voice appears. Leia looks over, seeing Han leaning up against the building with a cigarette in his hand.

"How did you know I was here?" Leia raises her eyebrow at him.

"You left your agenda open."

"So you followed me here?"

"Not exactly, I inquired after you." Han grabs her by the hand, intertwining her fingers in his. Leia lightly smiles at this gesture, but notices Mon Mothma looking out the window from her office. Leia slips her hands out of his.

"Maybe not in the street." Leia protests.

"What's the matter Princess? Getting shy all of a sudden?"

"People in this town tend to have a bad opinion of you it seems."

"How could anyone say such a thing? I am a delight." Han says, feigning offence.

"You're anything but." Leia smirks as they begin to walk down the street.

"So, what you gonna be her secretary?"

"Not exactly, her aide."

"What's the difference?"

"I organize her meetings, I will be tasked with doing some of her book keeping in the office. Among other things." Leia explains, Han looks over at her raising his eyebrow.

"That sounds a lot like being a secretary Princess."

"It isn't, you nutter." Leia chuckles, slightly pushing him aside. Han chuckles and nudges her in response. Leia's smile drops as a familiar figure approaches the two.

"Leia, darling." The woman calls, Leia stops as Thelma Hapes approaches the two of them. Her heels, the woman could barely walk in, clacked against the pavement. The blonde women places two pecks on the younger woman's cheek.

"What did you think of that? It's the fashion in Paris." Thelma says, smoothing out her blue silk dress.

"Very…. interesting." Leia says, unsure how to respond to the woman.

"Yes, I think it's absolutely darling." Only then did the older woman notice the man standing behind Leia. "And who might he be?" She asks, looking back to Leia.

"This is Han, he is…my landlord…of sorts."

"So he's the one you've been living with."

"Indeed he is." Leia nods.

"He speaks too." Han incepts the women's conversation. The tall blonde briefly looks over at the man, blinking once before turning her attention back to Leia.

"Anyhow, we must have you over for dinner one of these nights. Isolder would be pleased to see you."

"I have seen him."

"Well I know that, I mean without the presence of…. other factors." She states, her eyes briefly looking to Han then back to Leia. Leia smirks at the woman's typical response.

"Perhaps another time in the future." Leia looks to Han, grasping his hand in hers. "Han and I are rather preoccupied in the foreseeable future. Good-day." The two walk away from the stunned blonde, continuing on their way home.

"I thought people in this town had a bad opinion of me." Han raises an eyebrow as they walk out of ear shot of the older woman.

"It has occurred to me, that I do not care." Leia responds, looking up at him with a smile. Unable to help himself, her smiles in response.

"And you say I'm the nutter." He says, slightly pushing her, sending her stumbling.

 **Author's note:**

 **Thanks for reading! So I am going traveling for a period of time and will not be bringing my laptop, and I will be unable to post for a while. I may get one more done before I go but in the event, I don't I am warning.**

 **-Tamorasky.**


	17. Sunday Song

Winter sat alone at the table by the window at the Maz's bar. She takes a sit of her gin and tonic, watching a group of men who were obviously glaring at her. Her heart pound, hoping to god Leia would show up any moment now.

"Do you want another?" Winter jumps at the voice emerging.

"No, Mara. When Leia shows up we'll be leaving presently."

"You want me to talk to Maz about the men? We can have them scattered in a moment."

"No it's fine. At this point I can handle these boys." Winter teases. Mara chuckles, picking up the empty glass. Winter hands money over to the waitress for her drink. "Perhaps I shall step outside and wait."

"Let us know if you need anything." Mara says before walking away from the table. Winter stands, grabbing her purse from the table. She waves to Maz as she leaves the bar. She stands in front of the bar, lighting a cigarette. She turns her attention to the same group of men exiting the bar. She sighs, hoping they walk past her but they don't.

The five men surround her, blocking her escape. She doesn't look at them in the eye, continuing to smoke her cigarette.

"Where's your kraut?" one of the men ask. Winter sighs, knowing this was going to come. Winter looks up, finally making eye contact from the man who raised the question.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." Winter answers, staring at the brunette who was obviously leading.

"Like hell you don't. Everyone knows you've been fucking that damn kraut." He responds. Someone spites at her feet. "You know what they do to women in Europe for fucking krauts?"

Winter grits her teeth, knowing full well what many towns did to their women who were involved with German soldiers.

"Of course, she knows. She treated those women who were traitors." One of the other men speaks up.

"What are you? Some Nazi sympathizer? Well knowing you Winter, you probably let some of those fascists have a go at you." The brunette raises his hand to brush her cheek suggestively. Without hesitation Winter raises her cigarette and butts the lit cigarette into the man's palm. He yells out in pain before Winter flicks her cigarette at him.

One of the others grabs her by the throat, slamming her against the brick wall of the bar.

The men stop in shock as the small figure shoves their way through the group to the woman. The man holding Winter is greeting with the woman's palm crushing into his nose. He recoils in pain, letting Winter go. Winter smiles in relief as Leia takes her place next to her best friend.

"Is there a problem here?" Leia inquires. The brunette, still holding his burnt hand speaks up.

"Stay out of this Organa. We're teaching this traitor a lesson."

"You seem to forget that while most of you were continued going to college and had parents pay your way out of conscription, Winter and Tycho both served overseas for our country." Leia takes Winter by the arm and shoves through the group.

"Leia, they will come after you for this."

"Luckily, their ring leader is quite convinced he will marry me one day. I should be safe for the mean time." Leia acknowledges.

"Isolder still has no clue about you and Han?"

"None, whatsoever." Leia chuckles. "Is this a common occurrence?"

"For Tycho it is. He constantly gets cornered and harassed. Nothing he can't handle, normally results in physical altercations, but the navy taught him more than school ground fighting ever can." Winter sighed "It only started happening to me once some ex-soldiers realized I was the nurse who helped treat the women who were tortured by their people."

"Winter…."

"You never saw any of it Leia, you were gone before any of it happened. I was in Ste Marie, I remember the townspeople dragging women out of their homes by the hair. Some women were clutching screaming babies to their breasts as they kneeled in front of the town hall. They sheared off their hair as if they were animals, they cut it so close most of their scalps were bleeding."

"And as a nurse you couldn't let them continue to suffer."

"As a woman, I couldn't. They did what they could for themselves and families to survive. I couldn't help but have sympathy for them." Winter sighs, her thoughts going back to the women crying in the square.

"I know. We would see some of them standing along the highways and often with small children. Many of the men I travelled with took pity and often gave them army rations." Leia goes silent, thinking about what had occurred earlier. "If you continue to have problems, let me know."

"Leia, I don't need favours from you. Especially if they come from your father's friends."

"Winter, if you have problems let me know." Leia reiterated.

"I thought I was supposed to be the older sister figure."

"I thought we both knew I am more responsible than you."

"Not so sure about that anymore. I'm living in a respectable boarding house, you, an unmarried young woman is living with two men; one of whom is unattached."

"Han is not unattached." Leia responds, immediately regretting her answer. Winter perks up at her words, the white-haired woman's eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Oh? Han and You are an item now? Are you?"

"I don't know if item is the right word."

"You two fuck yet?"

"WINTER." Leia exclaims, shocked by her friend's question. Winter shrugs, lighting another cigarette.

"I'm just saying, I see the way he looks at you and the way you look at him. It's a pragmatic question."

"No, we have not…done such things." Leia affirms, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Sweet innocent Leia." Winter smiles at her response. "When it comes time, let me know. I can teach you a few things. Han probably has French letters."

"French Letter?"

"English Hoods is the other term."

"Oh. I see." Leia nods, her blush deepening. She knew of the precautions of pregnancy.

"Are you embarrassed?"

"No, I'm not embarrassed. I'm just not used to talking about such things. Mother gave me a brief overview of what would happen. But we never discussed it in detail."

"Well, if you have questions. You know you can come to me. I mean I know your aunts will talk to you about that sort of thing once you and Han decide to settle down." Winter shrugs her shoulders. Leia stops, surprised at her friend's talk of settling down.

"Wait, Settling down….with Han…" Leia trails off, Winter stops and turns to her friend.

"Or not, if you don't want to settle down with Han."

"I've never really thought of it."

"You've never thought of it?"

"Well, have you ever thought of settling down with Tycho?" Leia asks, knowing Winter was very much against marriage.

"Of course, I have. Even though I never have to intention of marrying him, I could never see myself with anyone else. I know it's early but, you don't feel that way even a little bit with Han?"

"I haven't had time to think about it. I never thought of it because I never thought it would happen since I came home." Leia cuts herself off, she had no intention of telling Winter that she gave up the idea of settling down when the fist nightmares started plaguing her nights.

Authors Note:

I am back from my trip. I had lots of inspiration on it as I went to London and France for 3 weeks (Visited many of the war memorials while there) So I will be posting regularly over the summer. Sorry about the grammatical errors.


	18. Our Day

As the two women approach the apartment they notice Han and Chewie standing in front of the Falcon. Leia sighs as she notices the hood was popped, meaning the two men were trying to solve a problem.

"Alright let's try this again." Han says, wiping his hands on his now greying shirt. Chewie inserts the crank and begins to turn the starter. The old ford turns over after a few tries, Leia hears the brunette man laugh over the rumble of the old truck.

"With the amount of money, you've put into that truck you could have bought yourself a new truck." Leia comments as they stop before entering the building.

"But a new car doesn't have personality. The Falcon does." Han says, closing the hood and running a hand over it.

"She sure does, by the way. Your oil is leaking." Leia says pointing to the street which was slowing turning black.

"Shit, Chewie turn her off." Han curses, Chewie complains in response before turning the switch. Han looks to Winter "I thought I've made it clear you're not welcome."

Winter laughs in response, sticking her tongue out at the older man before making her way inside.

"See? The amount of disrespect she has for me." Han says to Leia.

"Han, I think most people who meet you have a level of disrespect for you." Leia retorts, causing Chewie to laugh in response. Han turns to look at his friend.

"Yea, yeah. Back to work Chewie we gotta work on that leak." Han says turning his attention back to the car. Leia chuckles as she walks into the apartment, meeting Winter at the front door of the apartment. Leia opens the door, allowing Winter to walk in a head of her. She closes the door behind her and makes for her room, reappearing with a pair of black pumps.

"These are adorable." Winter steps forward taking the shoes out of her best friend's hands. "Why don't you ever wear these?"

"I haven't really had the chance to since coming back."

"You could have worn them at the gala."

"I wanted to wear my uniform. I'm proud of my service."

"As am I, but Leia you've been wearing the same dreary uniform for 2 years now. It's time to change."

"I know it is, I just never wear heels. Aunt Rogue got them for me when I graduated from secondary school. I've had them for two years now, they are yours."

"I'm sure I can find time to wear them between the hospital and school." Winter says excitedly.

"Your planning on going back to school?"

"Yeah, just a few night classes." Winter shrugs, slipping off her shoes to try on the simple black leather pumps.

"What about work?" Leia inquires, stunned her friend was talking of leaving her job.

"I'll continue working at the hospital while I go to school. But after, who knows. It's not the same Leia. It's really different from…." Winter trails off, thinking about her wartime nursing. "Everything from then. It's made me realize that this isn't what I volunteered for. I've heard Baltimore still has a factory hiring women and even more people are hiring women in secretarial jobs. If I have schooling it may increase my chances."

"It may, it really depends on experience as well."

"You could come with me. You have the experience and we could board together."

"I have my job here with Mon. It's not much but the moneys good and I believe in what we are working towards."

"Leia, me and you both know Mon will never take office. Tarkin has won the seat for two years now and he has widespread influence in the political system." Winter states.

"I know that. Dad was half Italian, it was a wonder he was ever elected to senate. But any advancement is a step forward for us. I will be proud to be a part of it whether it happens or not."

"How noble." Winter chuckles, slipping the shoes off and picking them up. "They fit perfectly. As usual."

Leia chuckles, remembering a time when they were able to switch clothing and shoes throughout high school.

"Are you going to come down to Maz's this evening?" Leia asks as she escorts her friend out of the apartment.

"Probably not. I have an early shift at the hospital tomorrow. I was planning on having a quiet night."

"Alright, well I'll see you on Friday I guess." Leia says as the two women step outside.

"Yeah definitely." Winter answers, giving her friend a hug. She gives the brunette a kiss on the cheek, "Bye sugar."

"Bye Winter." Leia acknowledges as the white-haired woman walks away down the street. Han approaches the brunette as he wipes his hands on his shirt once again.

"You ready to head to Maz's?" He asks, Leia turns to face him, raising an eyebrow.

"Only after you change." She replies, eyeing up his shirt now covered in oil.

"Alright, but only 'cause you insist Princess." He says giving her a kiss on the forehead before smearing some oil on her cheek with his thumb.

"HAN!" She bats his hands away from her face. He gives her a wink before moving into the building. Leia attempts to wipe the smear off, with no success. Chewie approaches the girl, licking his thumb and goes to wipe it off himself.

"It's alright Chewie, I'll go up and wash it off."

{Ah, yes. Understandable.} Chewie responds, not taking into account that the young woman may not want his saliva on her cheek. Leia smiles in response, not fully understanding what the Creole man was speaking.

She turns and enters the building to their apartment. She enters the washroom, seeing the black smear on her cheek. She shakes her head before grabbing her washcloth and wiping it away.

"I thought a little grease suited you." Han smirks as he approaches behind her. He places his hands on her waist as she looks at him in the mirror. Han buries his face in her hair, inhaling to take in her scent. He moves her hair away from her neck, allowing him to lightly kiss her neck.

Leia goes ridged at this act, unsure how to react to the unfamiliar feeling. She lets out an involuntary moan as he kisses where her pulse lays.

"H-han." Leia stutters. "We should go if we're going to meet Wedge and Luke on time."

"mmm keep 'em waiting." Han responds. Leia turns to face him, making him move away from her. He remains unmoving as her brown eyes burrow into him, as he stares at her he notices the hesitation and uncertainty in them. He clears his throat, breaking the silence. "Yeah, your right we should get going."

Leia smiles at him, giving him a quick peck on the lips before exiting the bathroom. Han smirks to himself before exiting the room himself. He joins Leia in the hallway before they start on their way to the bar.

"Is Chewie going to join us?" Leia asks as they walk away from the apartment building.

"Nah, said he's got some repairs to do on the Falcon." Han responds, Leia nods in acknowledgment and takes his hand in hers. Han chuckles as Leia's reluctance to show affection around others, she had never said as much to him however it did not take him long to notice.

"What is it?" Leia asks suspiciously.

"You, the hesitance of showing affection in front of others."

"I never thought of it like that." Leia ponders. "I was always taught by my parents not to display affection in public."

"Was that a political thing?"

"Yes and no. I was always taught that relationships are personal and shouldn't be displayed in the public sphere. Partially too so political competition couldn't use my behaviour as leverage against my father."

"Smart man. What would his competition think of Bail Organa's only daughter seeing a scoundrel like myself?"

"Probably get every chance to scandalize my name, my father's colleagues however are already scandalized." Leia chuckles, thinking about Mon's constant warnings against Han. He pulls Leia close to him.

"I can find a way to scandalize them more."

"I think not." Leia responds, remaining close to the man. They stay that way as they approach the bar. Leia steps through the doorway first, her eyes searching the room for Isolder and his group, to the relief of her they were nowhere to be seen. The couple stay still as they notice a relatively small woman approaching them.

"Han! Leia!" She calls as she stands in front of them.

"Hey, Maz." Han responds to the small woman. She re-adjusts her glasses as she looks at the brunette male.

"Where's Chewie?"

"He's making some minor repairs to the Falcon."

"I like that man." Maz comments with a smile before turning to Leia, grasping in hands in hers. "How are you my dear? Is this one treating you well?"

"I'm fine Maz. He's been agreeable." Leia teases. Maz glances over at Han before cackling at the young girl jab.

"You two keep me young." She sighs, patting the brunettes hand before letting go of them. "Luke and Wedge are in the corner booth. I'll send Mara over in a bit to collect your order."

"Thanks, Maz." Han grumbles as the two make their way to their friends. Luke excitedly waves at the couple as he sees them approach. Wedge and Luke sat on opposites sides of the booth, Leia immediately takes a seat next to Luke, resulting in Han sliding into the seat next to Wedge.

Author's Note.

Next chapter may be a little short, I have yet to plan it out better. I'll try to have the next update done by July 4.


	19. Time's A Ticker

Han remains quiet as he listens to the younger three debate state politics, a topic which did not interest Han.

"Please, Tarkin at this point is ok running this state as if it was a totalitarian regime. You think when his four years are up he'll stop? No, he is going to keep running till he can get to the presidency."

"If anything, I think he'd settle for vice presidency if it meant his running mate was Palpatine." Luke points out, putting his arm around Leia's shoulders. Han stares at the younger man's arm, a surge of jealously going through the brunette as he notes the closeness of the young couple.

"Just what we need, for the Hapes to have more control over this town." Wedge rolls his eyes sarcastically. Han takes another sip of his whiskey, he had been in Aldera for more than 6 months and he still didn't understand the dynamics of the town.

"I don't understand how this town is so small and yet it has so much political standing." Han finally says, his frustration building up as he watches Leia and Luke.

"It never used to be that way. It really started with Sheev Palpatine in 1915 when he was elected governor and four years later he was elected to the senate." Leia explains. "My dad, Bail isn't originally from here. He was initially going to run in his home state of New York but in the end decided to run here."

"Tarkin was a progeny of Palpatine and managed to extend his influence becoming the governor after Palpatine. People are convinced when Palpatine decides to run for presidency he will ask Tarkin to be his running mate." Luke finishes explaining the prominent families of the town. Han nods absentmindedly, his attention wavering.

"I don't understand how the Hapes have anything to do with this...Palpatine." Han sighs, regretting his decision to ask about this matter.

"Thelma Hapes…is Palpatine's daughter. She has a strong standing with her father and has been grooming Isolder to follow in his grandfather's footsteps." Luke continues to explain.

"Leia, Luke your boring Han to death. I implore you to stop." Wedge chuckles "I doubt that a big city guy like him cares about our small-town politics."

"Never did pay much attention to politics in New Orleans." Han shrugs, taking another sip of his whiskey. Leia sits up a little, surprised Han shared information about his past.

"New Orleans? You don't sound like you're from Louisiana. You have more of a mid-west vibe" Wedge comments, his words slurring slightly.

"I ain't from Louisiana, not originally."

"See I knew it, I know my southerners." Wedge gloats, taking another sip of his beer.

"But I ain't from the mid-west either." Han smirks, enjoying the look of disappointment on Wedge's face when he admits this. However, having no intention of telling the group his place of origin. His smile drops as he sees Luke lean over and whisper something into Leia's ear, making the young girl smile in response.

His grip tightens on his glass before downing the rest of his whiskey.

"'m gettin' another drink." He stands abruptly, making his way to the bar. He orders himself another whiskey, deciding to drink it at the bar. He quickly drinks it and orders another. Maz looks at the man in concern as she pours him another.

"Han, you might want to consider easing up. I'm sure Leia doesn't want to carry you home. She, unlike you has a reputation to uphold." Maz warns, sliding the glass over.

"'m sure she has someone around to help her uphold her reputation."

"What are you talking about?" Maz questions.

"Don't worry about it." He mutters turning his back to the bar, looking out to the floor. He sips this glass slower than the other two, knowing Maz may not serve him another. His eyes burrow into Luke and Leia's backs as the couple get closer. He tears his eyes away from the two, scanning the rest of the bar.

He notices three women sitting at a booth, a man sitting between two of them his arms draped across the seat. Han smirks as he listens closely to the man trying to impress these women as he describes his army days. Han pulls himself away from the bar, slowing approaching the man.

"So there we are covered in mud, and its pouring. We can't tell if there thunder or if it's just artillery fire. My friend, who was lying next to me was totally oblivious to the shell that almost landed on him." The man describes. "I pulled him out of the way and shielded him with my body, trying to protect him in that instant."

Han smirks as the women all gasp in suspense.

"Luckly, the shell was a dud. And we were both safe." The man finishes the story as Han stands in front of the table.

"From what I remember it was me who saved you from the shell from landing on you." Han retorts. The man looks away from the blonde sitting next to him, a smirk spreading across the other man's face as he sees Han.

"Ladies would you please excuse me." The man says, all the women, disappointed stand from the table disperse.

"Hey." Han calls to the man, who stands up from the table. He slowly approaches Han a scowl forming on his face.

"You no good son of a bitch." He says. "You gotta lot of guts showing your face to me, after that stunt you pulled."

Han inhales shakily, unsure of the other man's intentions. The man jerks forward, making Han jump in response waiting to be socked in the jaw; instead was greeted with a hug. The man's laughter fills the building as Han recovers from the shock.

"How you doing you old pirate? It's so good to see you." The man chuckles as he pulls away. "I never thought I'd see ya again, what are you doing here?"

"Ah, started off getting a part for the falcon."

"What did you do to my truck?"

"Your truck? I won her from you fair and square."

"And Chewie he still hanging around with your sore ass."

"Yeah he is." Han responds, placing his hands in his pockets. He turns his head when he feels a hand slide on his shoulder, seeing Leia standing next to him. Han smiles the young woman before looking back to his old comrade, who was staring at her.

"Hello, who do we have here?" He says, taking a step towards her. Leia removes her hand from Han's shoulder as the other man steps forward.

"I'm Captain Lando Calrissian. And you are?"

"Leia." She simply says, not offering a last name.

"Hello Leia." Lando lightly takes the hand that left Han's shoulder and kisses it. Han slips his hand between the two of them, taking her hand in his.

"Alright you old smoothie." Han rolls his eyes at Lando, leading Leia back to their original table, Lando following behind them.

"How's the gas going? Still paying off for you?" Han asks as Lando catches up with them.

"Not as well as I've hoped. I've had supply problems of all kind, I've had labour difficulties." Lando trails off as Han begins to chuckle at his friend. "What's so funny?"

"You sound like a reputable business man." Han responds sitting in his original chair, while Lando grabs one from a neighbouring table to sit in. "A responsible leader, who would've thought that."

"You know seeing you brings back a few things." Lando says as he sits before shrugging. "Yeah, I'm responsible it's the price ya pay for being successful." Lando gives Leia a wink before turning back to Han. She rolls her eyes at the gesture and makes her way to the bar. Han watches her walk away over Lando's shoulder, not noticing Luke leave the table to join her at the bar.

Luke places an arm around her shoulder and makes a remark to her, causing her to laugh in response. Han feels his chest tighten once more as he sees her place her arm on Luke's back while the two continue to chatter. Staring at the two of them and noticing the chemistry the two had, he couldn't help but wonder if he was standing in the way of her happiness.


	20. Love's Lost

"I think Han's new friend really wants to take you home." Luke whispers to Leia as they stand at the bar. Leia chuckles in response, not really believing the blonde.

"I think if anything he wants to get a response out of Han."

"I highly doubt that." Luke retorts, leaning on the bar. "I think if he had the chance he wouldn't hesitate to take you home."

"I'm not going to have this conversation with you." She says, taking her drink from Maz and leaving the bar for the table. Leia takes her original seat, next to the newcomer. Luke follows shortly after, taking his seat next to her.

"And we're able to operate out of the government's jurisdiction" Lando says, not noticing Leia sitting next to him.

"So you're a part of one of the mining unions?" Leia interjects. Lando turns to her, placing an arm across the back of her chair.

"No, not actually our operation is small enough to go unnoticed. Also we've made some deals to ensure our independence."

"Like what?" Luke inquires

"We've made a deal with a company called Empire, keeps the government out of our affairs." Lando explains, for the first time looking at Luke.

Leia's heart drops as she hears the name, her face going pale. She stands up without a word, leaving the table and then the bar. Han stands up as he watches her leave the bar, prepared to go after her but stops himself as he notices Luke making his way after her.

Han sits back down at the table, taking another sip of his whisky.

"Was it something I said?" Lando asks, turning away from the door.

"'m not sure." Han shrugs, pretending it didn't bother him.

"Shouldn't you be going after her?"

"Nah, she doesn't need me."

….

Leia walks a few blocks away from the bar before leaning against a building. She closes her eyes, wishing now more than ever she had a cigarette with her. She opens her eyes as she hears footsteps come towards her.

"Han…"She calls out to the man's silhouette as it approaches her. Luke emerges instead from the shadows.

"Sorry to disappoint." Luke replies shrugging his shoulders. Leia doesn't respond, turning herself away from him. Luke approaches, sighing as he places a hand on her back. "Leia…"

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about him if possible."

"I think that option is not available anymore. You'll have to tell Han eventually, he is a part of your life."

"Luke, that man has never been and never will be a part of my life." Leia hisses, removing Luke's hand off of her. "I think it's time you got back. Mara will be wondering where her entertainment for the night has gone."

Luke stares at her, his chest aching with hurt before walking away from her without another word. She leans against the closest building, waiting for her anger to subside, but it doesn't.

"Hey, what's going, on?" Han's voice pulls Leia out of her trance.

"Nothing. I just want to be alone for a little while."

"Nothing?" Han questions moving in front of her, taking her hands in his. "Come on, tell me. What's going on?"

Leia finally looks up at him, pondering for a moment whether to tell him or not. Making her mind up she sighs, pulling her hands out of his.

"I can't tell you." Leia finally responds after moments of silence. Han scoffs at it, pulling away from her, his jealously finally surfacing.

"Could you tell Luke? Is that who you could tell?"

"I-" Leia cries, turning away from him, unable to look him in the eye. She bites her lip, fighting tears. Han grunts angrily as he turns, storming away. He stops before he gets too far as he hears her sobs. He turns back, running his hand through his hair, re-approaching her.

"I'm sorry." He professes, his voice barely audible. Leia turns back to him, tears silently streaking down her cheeks. Her mind runs a mile per minute, unsure how to respond.

"Hold me." She finally decides on, leaning on him. Han pauses for a moment before wrapping his arms around her. Han holds her closer, feeling conflicted as his mind still raced with thoughts. Maybe her being with him was too good to be true, it was Qi'ra all over again. The woman in front of him was too good for him, maybe she did deserve a man like Luke.


	21. Only Human

There had been no yelling, or conversation about that night, they allowed it to end the way it did. Leia did her best to be absent from the apartment as much as she could, not wanting to be in Han's way. She often visited Luke out at the farm and helped Beru with kitchen work, or was at the office reorganizing files.

Leia sat silently as she watched a gentleman in an army uniform with Winter at the bar. The brunette smiles, shaking her head as she watches her best friend bat her eyelashes at the poor unsuspecting man.

"Is she vying for free drinks again?" A unexpected voice makes Leia jump slightly, looking to her side she sees Mara standing at the table, holding two empty glasses.

"I believe so. So far tonight she's been doing an excellent job."

"I can't believe some of these boys. Showing up in uniform to show off to girls, flaunting their service just to get a girl."

"You wouldn't believe how often it works."

"I sure do, I've seen it every night since they've returned." Mara states, thinking back to a time where the bar was empty almost every night while most of the young men in the town served overseas. Most of her favorite regulars never returned. "Would you like me to make you up an order or do you want to tail off of Winter if she's successful?"

"I'll see how Winter does, if she's not successful then I'll wave you down."

"Alright, well tell Winter good luck." The red head chuckles, leaving the brunette alone at her table again. Leia turns her attention back to the bar, the man was now leaning over the counter telling his order to Maz, Winter was smiling like crazy at Leia, indicating her trick worked. Leia almost died of embarrassment when Winter grabbed the two drinks from the gentlemen, thanking him for the flattery but ultimately deciding to be with her friend for the night.

"Alright, gin and tonic for my friend." Winter says, placing the beverage in front of Leia.

"I think you've got to be the worst person."

"I don't know about that, didn't we serve in a war because of the worst person in the world?"

"Alright, fine then. The worst person alive then."

"Thank you." Winter mocks, raising her glass to take a drink.

"Where did he serve?" Leia asks, nodding towards the serviceman.

"Oh, I have no clue. He just started going on about how many krauts he killed. I tend to tune them out when they go into that. I don't understand how men can talk about their service like that."

"Not all men do." Leia injects, taking a sip of her gin and tonic.

"Mostly just the ones who want to brag." Winter's gaze goes towards the door noticing Wedge, Han, Chewie, and Luke had just walked through. They take a seat at their regular table, waiting on Mara to take their orders. "How about you Leia? I got this round I think it's now your turn to get drinks."

"I'd rather not." Leia retorts, knowing what her friend was implying. "I'm not flirting with men to get drinks."

"It's not flirting, it's…suggesting. However, they decide to perceive it is their fault." Winter shrugs, Leia can't help to laugh at her statement. "Plus, it might warrant some action from a certain someone."

Leia's laughter stops, furrowing her eyebrows she looks behind her to the regular table, noticing the group of men for the first time all night.

"I don't think it will." Leia takes another sip of her drink.

"I fail to understand how your relationship fell apart within a matter of a month."

"I highly doubt what Han and I had can constitute as a relationship."

"Then what was it?" Winter insists, her finger nails clicking against her glass. Leia remains silent for a while, unsure how to respond. Her attention goes back to the table, observing a blonde man was standing at the end of the men's table.

…..

"Winter and Leia are over there, should I invite 'em over?" Wedge asks, confused as to why the two women weren't with them.

"Nah, don't worry about it." Han responds, sitting back in his chair. Wedge looks to Luke, who just shrugs his shoulders. None of them had dared to ask Han what had occurred between him and Leia that night, they only knew the two had obviously stopped seeing each other.

Chewie mutters something to Han, who shrugs his shoulders in response, not allowing either of the other two to decipher what he said. Chewie puts a hand on his best friend's shoulder in comfort.

"It's not as bad as you think Chewie." Han retorts, Chewie stares at him for a time before replying. "We have not been avoiding each other. She's just no around as often."

"Han, I think that constitutes as avoiding each other." Luke interjects, having a feeling of what Chewie was talking about.

"I don't know what she's doing. 'm not avoiding her."

 _"Then what is the issue with inviting her over to the table?"_ Chewie inquires.

"Jesus, if you want them to join us so bad how 'bout you ask them?" Han snaps. Chewie shrugs, taking a sip of his drink.

 _"Cause the wouldn't understand me."_

Han takes a deep breath, resisting the urge to scream in frustration. He groans, slouching over the table with him head in his hands as the men sitting at the table chuckled at his apparent frustration. The four don't notice Isolder making his way over to the table as they all chatted.

"Hey." The blonde intervenes "What's he doing in here?" He cocks his head at Chewie, not directly addressing him but Luke.

"It's a free country ain't it?" Han articulates to the man ignoring him and his best friend. Isolder still doesn't look at the two, his gaze focusing in on Luke and Wedge.

"He has exactly 5 seconds to get his shit together and leave. Or we're going to have a problem."

 _"I'll go."_ Chewie offers, not wanting to cause problems. As he was about to stand, Han places a hand on his shoulder; imploring him to stay.

"You have exactly 5 seconds to step away from this table or we'll have a problem." Han retaliates. Isolder finally looks to the other man.

"Your rather overprotective of your ni-" Isolder is cut off by Han standing from his chair abruptly, the sound of the legs screeching against the floor echoes through the bar.

"I dare you to finish that statement." Han intimidates the other man, standing nearly a foot taller than him. Isolder takes a moment to decide whether if he had the guts to finish his statement.

"Isolder. I think it's time for you to leave." Leia's voice appears amongst the impending fight. Both men look over at her, they take a step away from each other. Isolder smirks at the young woman.

"Awfully quick to defend your private Solo aren't you Miss Organa? I don't think you would be if you truly knew about him." Isolder taunts, staggering towards her. Han clenches his jaw as he tightens his fists as the blonde made his way to her and placed a hand on her bare shoulder.

"I think you have had quite enough and it's time for you to leave." Leia responds, brushing his hand off her.

"He's nothing, he comes from nothing. He's a fucking convict for Christ's sake, didn't even sign up for the war to serve his country, it got him out of prison." Isolder turns back to the brunette man, wanting to humiliate him more. "And worse than that, he's a fucking half breed. His mother was some sq-"

Han wastes no more time before punching the other man in the jaw before he could finish his sentence. Isolder staggers to the ground as the impact hits him. Han shakes off the pain in his hand before leaving the bar.

Leia steps over Isolder, not bothering to grab her purse from her table as she chases after Han.

"Han." She calls after him as she reaches the street, going after his silhouette. She manages to catch up to him on the street, kicking off her heels in the process.

"Leia just leave." Han struggled to get his words out, still flustered by Isolder's words. He increases his speed, hoping she would leave him alone.

"No." She responds, not realizing they had already reached the falcon. Han groans at her stubbornness.

"It wasn't a question Leia, leave me alone."

"You honestly think I'm going to leave after that?" Leia challenges. Han rolls his eyes before getting into his truck, Leia climbing in after him.

"Get out of the car Leia."

"Why?" She challenges again, refusing to back down from this fight.

"Because in these moods there's only three thing to do, and I've already done two of them within this last half an hour. All I really want right now is to tear that damned dress off you." He replies, finally looking at her. "Just go Leia."

Leia sits there for a moment, contemplating whether if she should listen to his request, allowing him to cool off from tonight. Instead she reaches up, tangling her hands into his hair, pulling his head to hers.

Han's mouth never left hers as he lifts her up so she was straddling his lap. He yanks down the straps of her blue dress as she tore at the buttons on his shirt. He trails from her lips down her neck to in between her breasts. She pressed her cheek against his hair, her hands sliding down his chest to his belt. He stops for a moment, his breathing ragged and uneven, his hands spanning her naked back.

"Leia…are you sure about this?" He quietly asks, she takes a moment before affirming her decision. However, Han stops, pulling her dress back over her chest. "I can't"

"What do you mean you can't?" She asks, knowing full well he was physically capable.

"I can't do this to Luke."

"What do you mean?" Leia questions again, Han presses one more kiss to her lips before quickly pulling away, knowing what he said next could be the end of them.

"Luke's in love with you." Han reveals "And you love him."

"Of course." Leia stares at him confused. Han feels his heart drop as she confirms his suspicions.

"Alright, I understand. Fine. I won't get in the way." Han replies, Leia takes a moment before realizing what he was trying to say. She chuckles in response, confusing Han.

"It's not like that. He's my brother." She confesses, pressing herself closer to him. Han smiles widely as the information sinks in.

"Oh, thank god." He mutters, pressing his lips to hers once again. Leia slides the straps of her dress of her shoulders again, allowing Han to pull it down, exposing her breasts to him. They lay on the leather seats, tangled, her dress now discarded on the car floor along with his shirt and belt.

Leia felt herself shaking with need as Han braced himself above her, his hands tangled in her long hair as his mouth explored every inch of her neck and breasts. Her arms and thighs locked around him as he entered her, a spark of pain overtaking her.

He whispers into her ear, reassuring her, making sure she is not hurt. She urges him to continue. It wasn't long after the pain dissipated, and her nails sinking into his back were out of pleasure and not pain. They claw at each other as she pulls him deeper, their moans filling the truck. His head fell into the crook of her neck as one final shutter enveloped them both.

He remains inside her for a while longer, not wanting to pull away from her. Leia holds him to her, feeling the same way. For the first time in quite some the time the two had finally felt as if they found resolve.


	22. The Chances

There hadn't been much thought that went into it, it was selfishness, the desire to separate herself from what everyone wanted of her. It clearly had nothing to do with emotion, she was sure of it.

Leia knew sex was a part of humanity and often has little to do with emotions. Those were the arguments circling in her head after waking up next to Han the next morning, her clothes strewn about the room and him holding her close. It was around 6 am when she woke, she barely managed to sneak out of the bed without Han waking up and gathered her clothing before escaping across the hall to her own room.

She looked at her watch again, debating whether she should just go back to bed or make coffee. She decided on the latter. She had gotten dressed, putting on a navy A-line skirt and a white blouse, the she was fairly certain once belonged to her mother. There was a small mirror that sat at the desk in her room, Leia had managed to prop it against the wall so she could easily do her hair.

It was getting longer than it was in the war, she had clipped it after she enrolled with WAC. She remembered her parent's amusement and her aunt's appalment.

" _Lelia!" Rouge shirked as the young woman walked into the parlour, Tia and Celly looked on their niece with absolute horror. Her mother sat there with a grin plastered across her face, but shocked._

She remembered being self-conscious at the time, it was the first time she had done anything like it, after all it had been ingrained into head from the time she was little that it was un-lady like to cut your hair. But through the war getting used to it, even cutting it on her own or getting one of the other girls to do it.

Now it was heavy, she often debated on cutting it short again but her aunt's lecturing echoed through her head from that day, deterring the girl from wanting to go through that process again. She brushes through her thick hair before deciding on pulling her hair into a ponytail.

She doesn't dare to put on makeup, she wanted to save herself the teasing from Han. She leaves her desk to go make coffee before Chewie woke, hoping to get out of the house before Han woke up.

She stops dead in her tracks as she notices Han standing in the kitchen, making coffee already. He looks over his shoulder upon hearing her footsteps approaching.

"You were up early." He comments, turning back to the stove.

"I'm always up early." Leia responds, sitting at the kitchen table. Leia stares at him, unsure how to bring up the awkward encounter from the previous night. "Han.."

"Don't."

"Excuse me?"

"You're gonna spew a bunch of bull shit that last night was a mistake."

"I think we both know it was. Both of us had been drinking."

"I didn't have that much to drink, and I know you didn't either." Han steps away from the stove, and sits himself next to her at the table. "You're afraid."

"I am not." Leia challenges, becoming flustered as he slips his hand into hers.

"Stop bein' stubborn."

"I am not stubborn." Leia retorts, Han laughs at this response.

"You are the most stubborn woman I know." He slides closer to her. Leia remains quiet, waiting for Han's next move. He presses himself closer to her until his lips meet hers. Leia abruptly pulls away when they hear heavy steps make their way down the hall.

 _"What are you doing up this early?"_ Chewie asks Han as he notices his friend sitting at the table.

"I got a job."

 _"Do you really? A proper job?"_

"What do you mean a proper job? What was I running in New Orleans?"

 _"A smuggling ring. That's not a proper job. You go to jail in that line of work."_

"Yes Chewie, a proper job."

"Where?" Leia asks.

"Wedge is opening a garage, asked me on as a mechanic."

 _"Is he paying you in real money?"_

"What do you mean 'is he paying me in real money?' of course he is."

"He does have a point Han, you have worked for beer." Leia slips her hand out of Hans and walks to the stove to pour herself some coffee.

"Who told you that?"

"Chewie." She response, facing the two men.

"Since when can you understand Chewie."

"I grew up speaking French, Chewie speaks Louisiana Creole, its base is French. I can pick words out here and there."

"So, I've been translating for no real reason."

"I wouldn't say that. It's nice to have some context." Leia smirks, placing her coffee cup down on the counter. "Now I have to get to work. I'll see you later." As she walks past Han she places a quick peck on his cheek before leaving the kitchen and the apartment with a smile on her face.

 **Authors' note:**

 **So sorry for the delay, school has been wild since September 5 to October 19 I have had 6 essays due. So that is why I've been unable to post for a while. I hopefully we'll be back up and continuing this story and am aiming to be done this story by the end of dec.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing your support has been so huge for my initiative to continue this story.**

 **XOXO Tamorasky.**


	23. Black and Blue

His eyes are shut while he rides up on the lift, trying to block out the noise and the movement. These monthly visits to his father were the worst, the few times in the years he had to ride in an elevator brought him nothing but anxiety. He hums to himself to expel the sound of the elevator ascending.

Luke opens his eyes as he feels the elevator come to a stop, racing out of it when the doors open. He walks onto the floor, continuing past the men who sat at desks working, the familiar noise of typing echoing through the room. He stops at the desk of the only woman in the room. She does not look up from her notes as he approaches her desk.

"Excuse me?" Luke speaks, getting the secretary's attention. She looks up at him, her eyes narrowing as he disturbs her. "I'm here to see Mr. Skywalker."

"He's in his office." She responds, looking back to her notes. Luke stands there for a moment before deciding to show himself into the office. He closes the door silently behind him, not wanting to disturb his father, who sat at his desk reading over what Luke would assume was a report. Luke stands awkwardly by the door, unsure how to make his presence known. He clears his throat, deciding on it being the less intrusive way.

The man looks up from the paper in his hand to examine who had dared to enter his office. His expression softening slightly when he sees his son, however not by much.

"Come take a seat Luke. I am just finishing." The older man says, his eyes going back to the paper. Luke stalks towards the chair that sat opposite his father, sitting down as silently as he had come in. The blonde man examines his father's desk, the neat plaque that read _Anakin Skywalker_ was squarely center at the front of his desk as it always was. The typewriter sat in the corner of the desk, which usually went unused as Asajj normally took notes. The opposite end had a stack of papers neatly organized and stacked.

Anakin puts the report down on the desk, snapping Luke out of his trance. Luke wills himself to look up at his father, who stared at him sternly.

"So, have you considered my proposal?" Anakin asks, folding his hands neatly on the desk. Luke sighs, he had hoped his father would ease into this conversation rather than dive right into it.

He had been dreading this meeting, it was the first time he had seen his father since coming home from Belgium.

"Well…I have. I..I'm just not sure if I want to join the company yet." Luke responds. "Obi Wan has been talking about travelling and has asked me to join him. Doing some relief work overseas."

"That damn old man." Anakin curses as he stands from his desk, looking out of the window. "I can accept the fact that you won't join the company yet…but I will not abide with you going off volunteering your time with that rat."

Luke sighs as Anakin speaks ill of Ben, he never knew what happened between the former friends but since the war broke out Anakin used his heritage against him any way Anakin could.

"Yes sir."

"and I swear Luke, if I hear you've left the country with that dog I will find you." Anakin sits back down at his desk. "I will not have it if you pull the same stunt you did when you signed up for the paratroopers. God, what kind of children did I end up with? I stick out my neck for you, schmooze with the entire board of directors at Westpoint and they accept you without hesitation and what do you do? You turn against my back and sign up for the paratroopers. Do you have any idea how humiliated I was when Palpatine asked me how you were enjoying Westpoint?"

"I would assume very much so."

"I was. Didn't make it any better that your sister joined the Women's Auxiliary corp, while she should've stayed home to settle down and marry. I should've never allowed her to grow up in Organa's house, they indoctrinated her with their socialism."

"Who would she marry? Most men were serving overseas."

"Not the respectable ones. Any of the respectable families had sons studying at Westpoint and most of them were home over the weekends. She could've had any of them."

"The army found Leia to be a valuable solider."

"She wasn't a solider she was a glorified secretary with a rank." Anakin snaps, he signs shaking his head. "I should've take control of that girl a long time ago. I've heard more disturbing rumours about her. That she's parading around town with a halfbreed."

"You mean Han?" Luke asks.

"You know him then?"

"Yeah, he's a good man, he fought with the marines in the pacific."

"A good man huh? He's also a criminal. The reason he fought for the marines is he was given the option to join them or stay in prison."

"No matter what he did, the man I know is a good one."

"Even still, I wish Leia wouldn't associate her with vermin like that. Because no matter what if someone comes from vermin they are always vermin. Speaking of vermin, if you continue to hang around with that red headed harlot you will be cut off."

…..

It had been the longest hour of Luke's life, he had headed straight to Maz's after badly needing a drink. He stands against the brick building, a cigarette dangling from his fingers as he reflects on the meeting.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice startles him, he looks to the door of the bar and sees Mara coming closer. "I thought you didn't smoke."

"I uh…don't really. Not often at least."

"Seems like you've had a long day." Mara chuckles, leaning against the wall with Luke, digging around in her purse for her cigarettes.

"Yeah, I went to see my father today. It was…" Luke trails off, not sure how to describe how the meeting went.

"Interesting?" Mara offers, finishing his sentence. Luke chuckles in response, nodding his head.

"Yeah, interesting would be the right word to sum it up." Luke reaches into his pocket, grabbing his cigarette pack from it. Offering one to Mara, who was still searching. Mara reaches and grabs one.

"Thanks, I must've left mine at home. You got a light too?"

"Yeah I do." Luke grabs the matches from his pocket, lighting one to light the cigarette between Mara's lips. Mara stares at the blonde man through her eyelashes as the cigarette lights.

"Thanks Luke." She says, leaning away from Luke still watching him.

"You off for the night?" Luke asks, wondering why she was lingering out of the bar with him.

"Yeah, Maz decided it was quiet enough to send me off." She shrugs, placing her hands in her overcoat pockets.

"Would you like an escort home?"

"I think we both know someone who wouldn't approve."

"At this point I don't really care what they think." Luke offers his arm to the redhead, she smiles and taking his arm. Mara looks at Luke as they walk, knowing the Luke prior to the war was not the same as the man standing next to her.

 **Author's Note:**

 **I AM DONE MY ESSAYS. I had 9 to do this term (sept-dec) So I will be updating this story more with longer chapters.**

 **I apologize about the use of the term "halfbreed" and want to apologize if I offended anyone. Just with the social climate of the 1940's it obviously wasn't as socially conscious and the term Metis or Indigenous wouldn't have been used.**

 **Thanks so much for reading and continuing to read my story!**

 **Tamorasky.**


	24. Better Together

He studies every detail of her face when they lay in bed together. His hand slowing dragging across her hips to the dip of her waist. It hadn't taken Leia long to take up a permeant residence in Han's room after his fight with Isolder. Her nights had gotten better since sharing a bed with Han, of course the dreams could still be unbearable; she found comfort knowing Han was with her.

"Why didn't you tell me about Luke?" Han asks, breaking the silence in the room. It had been 10 days since Leia had revealed to her lover the true nature of her relationship with Luke. Leia sits up in the bed, allowing the thin blanket to pool around her waist. Han shifts closer to her, propping himself up and begins to trail kisses along her back.

"It's not something we often disclose. Only a few people know as we weren't raised in the same house." Leia states as she begins to play with her hair.

"I find it hard to believe that your father would be opposed to twins."

"He would have taken us both if he had the choice."

"Whaddya mean by that?"

"My father and mother adopted me when I was a baby." Leia replies, slightly uncomfortable with discussing this with someone. "My biological mother, Padme, was close friends with both Bail and Breha. I suppose her and my biological father, Anakin, we very young when they met and married. Father used to tell me of how much Anakin adored her, showering her with gifts and grand gestures when they courted."

"What happened?" Han sits up next to her, his hand still caressing her back.

"I don't really know, my father never told me. Only that by the end of the pregnancy he had changed. He used to yell at her, hit her, and would disappear for weeks to go on a drinking binge. He wasn't even there when we were born, his best friend was…but not him. After when were born he became jealous that Padme's attention was always on us. He started to drink heavily and became more erratic. She couldn't handle it anymore…." Leia trails off. She had never liked discussing her biological mother, it was too awful.

"Anakin was declared to be an unfit parent and the state took custody of us. If there is surviving family the state likes to place children with them. So we were released to Beru and Owen, who couldn't have their own kids. I think they got overwhelmed with two babies and ultimately could not afford to take us both. Luke stayed with them and...well…I was placed back into the state's hands. I was four months when Father brought me home to mother. He always ensured Luke and I were close as we grew up." Leia smiles, reflecting on the wonderful childhood her adopted parents had given her.

"And Anakin?"

"He reached out to Luke when we were 15 years old, they maintain a relationship of sorts. Anakin wants Luke to take over his share of Empire when Luke turns 21."

"Has he ever reached out to you?" Han asks, Leia nods and sighs. "What happened?"

"He showed up at the house drunk one afternoon. Father and I had just returned from hunting doves. Anakin trampled on mother's flowers and demanded I be returned to him… I nearly shot his arm off, I would've if he hadn't stumbled."

Han chuckles, falling back down to his pillow, running a hand through his hair.

"You really are something sweetheart." Han smiles at his lover, who smiles bashfully in return. Leia stops playing with her hair and shifts to face Han.

"That information is going to cost you Solo." Leia informs him, nudging him with her foot. Han raises an eyebrow at her before leaning forward to kiss her thighs. "Not that!" She exclaims, brushing him off.

"Then what?" Han asks, pulling away from her. Leia looks at him thoughtfully and brushes his hair out of his eyes.

"Where were you born?" Leia finally inquires. This was the first time she had explicitly asked him, they had never discussed their past at least not like this.

"Leia…I don't really do…well… this."

"I know you don't, I don't know anything about you and anything I know of your past comes from other people like Lando or Chewie." Leia admits. The room goes silent, and so she shifts away from him. Leia gets out of the bed and grabbing one of his discarded shirts to cover herself. She flips her hair out from under the collar. "You don't have to answer right away…whenever you're ready." Leia relents and leaves the room after putting on her panties.

She heads to the kitchen to make coffee, knowing Chewie would still be asleep and hadn't gotten the chance. She washes out the pot, removing any remaining coffee from the previous morning. She isn't mad at Han, after all it really wasn't her business, she was more disappointed than anything. She grinds the coffee beans and adds them to the percolator, placing the pot on the stove.

"Wyoming." Han's voice nearly makes her jump out of her skin. She turns and sees him leaning in the kitchen doorway. He was dressed only in his trousers and was in the process of lighting a cigarette.

"Excuse me?" Leia queried. Han smirks at her as he takes a drag.

"I was born in Wyoming." He answers, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Where in Wyoming? Cheyanne? Fort Laramie?" Leia joins him at the table, wanting to know more. Han stares at her, debating if he was going to tell Leia anything more than his origins.

"The Wind River Reservation." Han discloses, taking a drag of his cigarette again. Leia had heard people discuss Han's background but she had never regarded that gossip seriously. "The hell with it. My mother was Kuccunikka."

"What is that?" Leia inquires.

"It's a band within the Shoshone. My father was working in Riverton doing some mining work, they met in the town, married, and had me." Han shrugs, he hadn't talked about his mother in quite some time.

"How long were you there?"

"I was there until I was three. My mom died when the Spanish influenza went through the reservation when I was one. My father's contract in Riverton still had two years on it and was away often, my kaku raised me for the first three years of my life. When my father's contract ended he took me off the reservation to Denver where he worked as a mechanic." Han taps his fingers absent mindedly on the table.

"Did your father raise you with the knowledge of your mother's culture?"

"Y'know…when I was in the South Pacific I'd recall memories of everything my kaku taught me, but now I'm back I don't think I really remembered. My father did everything in his power to…erase that part of me." Han laments, watching his cigarette burn. Leia takes his hand in hers, giving a small squeeze of reassurance.

"Were you and him close?" Leia sympathized, knowing that even if he had stayed on the reservation he would've ultimately be taken away by the government to one of those schools.

"Nah, he was gone most of the time working and whenever he was home all we ever did was argue. He died so suddenly too, so we never were able to make amends." Han looks at Leia for the first time during this. "I ran cons on the streets of Denver with a few other kids who lost parents before I had enough to get myself to New Orleans. It seemed like good place at the time, at least better than the West and there were jobs running within the crime rings."

"There was a girl." Leia surmises, raising an eyebrow at Han. He looks at her, slightly offended at her guess. He points to himself as his brows knit in response. "You're not fooling me."

"Alright there was a girl." Han relents. "We had grown up together until we were sixteen and she…. well it doesn't matter. It wasn't good and I went to New Orleans, hoping to find her."

"And did you?"

"It doesn't matter." He replies, bringing her hand up to press a kiss to it. She grinned at the gesture and the sentiment. She breaks away when the coffee is ready, pouring them both a cup. Han thanks her when she sets his cup down in front of him, she sits down in her previous seat with her coffee.

He gazes at her as she slowly drinks her coffee, she was the first person he had ever disclosed his past to. She was maybe the first person, besides Chewie, who understood what it was like to face trauma as he had.

 **Author's Note:**

I am finally back with a new chapter, wasn't sure if I was going to finish this story as I got so busy since December. I was going to University full time and I took on two jobs so I really didn't have time. I'm going to try to update regularly over the spring and summer.

XOXO, Tamorasky.


	25. War Brides

December 3, 1946.

Leia awoke early that morning, ironing her dress along with Chewie and Han's best shirts. Han had insisted the night before that the two men didn't have to show up to the function dressed-up, but Leia was convinced otherwise. She was relieved that Chewie at least had a suit, Han had nothing of the sort. His fancy clothing only consisted of a pair of blue trousers from his dress blue uniform and a white collared shirt.

She had set up in the living room to get everything ready, nearly making Chewie jump out of his skin when he saw the young woman ironing at 7 in the morning.

"Hey, I said we don't need to do this." Han exclaims as he enters the living room with his coffee an hour later.

"Han, you can't show up to city hall in your street clothing. You at least have to dress somewhat nicely."

"I don't even have a tie."

"I already took care of it, Chewie had one you can use." Leia informs him, trying to iron out a stubborn crease in Chewie's shirt. Han's annoyed gaze turns to Chewie, who was sitting on the sofa quietly drinking his coffee.

"I just don't see the point, it's not like anyone will be paying attention to me throughout this thing."

"It will not kill you to wear a collared shirt for an afternoon Han." Leia sighs, finally handing Chewie his newly ironed shirt.

"It might." Han grumbles as he walks away from the living room, His dress clothes in his hands along with Chewie's tie.

 _"He hates it when he's told what to do."_ Chewie chuckles, watching his friend sulk away. Leia smiles at her friend, finally moving on to ironing the skirt of her dress _"Mornings like these remind me of home. My wife, Malla, used to iron every Saturday. I used to sit and drink my coffee as my son played with his toys."_

Leia nods in response, not understanding fully what he was saying but getting the idea that he was talking about his family. Chewie grabs their empty mugs to wash.

"We have to be at the church by noon." Leia informs him as she finishes ironing her dress. Leia turns her iron off and sets the ironing board off to the side. She grabs her dress and heads to her and Han's room. Leia lays her dress down on the bed, admiring her work. She hadn't had the need to iron anything since moving in with Han and Chewie. She grabs a pair of simple black heels from under the bed, they were another pair her aunties had purchased for her, back when they were still trying to convince her to partake in the debutantes' ball.

Her dress was a navy knee-length A-line, white buttons cascading down the front of the garment and a belt which wrapped around the waist. Shara was insistent that no one was to show up in their military uniform for the wedding, especially Kes. She goes to the closest she shares with Han to grab her stockings, which she had forgone during the morning.

She undresses from the yellow dress she had worn in the morning, not even hearing the door open to the bedroom. She slightly jumps when she feels hands rest on her waist from behind.

"Anything I can do to help?" Han inquires, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder. Leia removes his hands from her body so she could put on her black garter belt and her nylon stockings.

"Instead of wasting time hotshot, you can get dressed. We have to be downtown in an hour." Leia states as she rolls her nylon over her legs and clips it to her garter belt.

"What's wrong with what 'm wearing?" Leia turns to see what her love wore, a pair of grease-stained khaki pants and a white t-shirt that hadn't been washed in a few days. She raises an eyebrow at him, clearing challenging his remark. Han raises his hands in defeat and leaves the room, later returning with his newly pressed clothing in his hands.

Leia smiles as he walks back into the room to get dressed as she buttoned up her dress and clasped the belt around her waist. Han's quiet cursing fills the room as he struggles with putting on the tie, Leia chuckles and approaches him to tie it for him.

"How do you not know how to tie a tie?" Leia asks as she tightens it around his neck.

"I haven't had to in a long time, not since I was in Melbourne and even then I took my tie off when I was on leave." Han shrugs.

"You really are something." Leia gives him a quick peck on the cheek before placing on her shoes. Han follows her lead and leaves the room to have one more cup of coffee before they had to leave. Leia puts on a little rouge to add a little colour to her cheeks before leaving her room. Chewie and she had to wait for Han to finish his coffee before they go, citing that he thought Leia would have taken longer to put on makeup. Ultimately Chewie insisted that Han had to drink the hot beverage fast.

Leia herded the two men out of the apartment as fast as she could, so they could get to city hall on time.

….

Tycho and Winter sit on the benches at the entrance of city hall when the trio arrives at the function.

"We late or what?" Han asks, noticing that they were the only ones who had arrived.

"Nah, Winter just insisted we get here early." Tycho responds, looking at his watch once more. Han chuckles, slightly nudging Leia with his elbow. Leia rolls her eyes, taking a seat next to Winter. Luke and Wedge are the next guests to show up, then followed by Kes and Shara. Shara had her blonde hair pinned up and had a little makeup on to enhance her features.

"Sorry, we're slightly late." Kes says as the couple approaches their friends.

"I had a slight wardrobe malfunction." Shara says, gesturing to her overcoat which wasn't fully buttoned due to her protruding belly. Shara takes her coat off, handing it off to Luke who had offered to take it. She wore a black suit, which she found to be slimming at the right angle.

The group walk further into the building, Shara and Kes walk up to the city clerk hand-in-hand to discuss their intent. The clerk directs them to the office of the official who would be performing the ceremony. The group manage to squeeze into the small office to view the ceremony, which is simple and quick. Leia and Wedge sign the marriage license as the witnesses.

They head to Maz's after the ceremony, sitting at their regular table and sharing a bottle of champagne. Wedge stands from the table, raising his glass to the newly married couple.

"Well, I think it's fair to say none of us had ever expected for this day to come for Kes. Even when he wrote me letters discussing Shara I figured he'd fuck it up in some way, but here we are. Though in typical fashion he did act prematurely." He chuckles, motioning to the baby bump. "To Shara and Kes."

Everyone toasted to the couple, laughter filling the area as the men continue to tease Kes. Leia turns to Shara, who had her hand resting on her abdomen.

"Do your parents know about the baby?" Leia asks, taking a sip of champagne.

"They do, but they also think he and I married shortly before we headed for the states, so do Kes' parents."

"You'll have to hope they never see the registration." Winter remarks. Shara nods, taking a sip of her drink. Maz sends a bottle of wine over to the couple as a wedding present, insisting that Han isn't allowed to touch the good wine.

"Have you two thought of names yet?" Leia asks, returning to the conversation with the girls. Shara nods as she puts her wine glass down on the table.

"We're thinking of Rose if it's a girl, after Kes' grandmother. Or Poe if we have a boy, for my brother."

"And you are excited?" Han asks, interjecting into the conversation. Shara absentmindedly traces circles on her baby bump with her index finger.

"Nervous more than anything. Kes is just starting at the garage, and I'm not sure if my employer will keep me on after the baby is born. We're still living in that small apartment just off of Marigold St."

"God, I forgot about that shit hole Kes has you living in." Winter comments.

"Yeah, I should have asked about his living arrangements before I came overseas for him. One of my friends from Dover moved to Canada with her fiancé only to learn that the lucrative business he owned was a hot dog stand in Montreal."

The girls erupt into laughter at the story, imagining the disappointment the poor girl must have felt when she got off the boat in Quebec.

"I hope she turned around and got back on that boat." Winter giggles.

"That's the worst part, she couldn't. She was already heavily pregnant by the time she arrived in Canada, she was stuck."

"That poor girl." Leia shakes her head in disbelief.

"I mean a few girls were bound to fall for that right?" Winter shrugs. "Men who came into the clearing stations used to flirt with the nurses and promise them all of these luxuries they would give them when the war was over. A few of the girls got dismissed because of indecent behaviour with their beaus. None of the girls from my corps actually ran off with those men though, most went home to childhood sweethearts back home."

Leia feels a hand on her back, she turns to face Han who placed it there to get her attention.

"M gonna take off. You wanna come or come home with Chewie?" Han asks.

"I'll come home with you." Leia stands up and moves to Shara, hugging the seated woman. "Congratulations Shara."

"Thanks for coming you two."

"We wouldn't have missed it." Leia says, moving to Kes, who stands and gives her a peck on the cheek.

"Well thank you either way." Kes repeats, leaning over the table to shake Han's hand. Leia grabs her grey overcoat from the chair and buttons it up as the couple head into the cold December night. Leia locks her arm with Han's, holding him close to her side as they walk in the night.

Han was always warm, even during the cold temperature. She loved to cling to him to keep warm, especially since she always ran cold.

"Jesus, you are just like ice." Han curses as Leia's hand slips into his.

"Yeah, well you made me leave the house in a hurry I didn't get a chance to grab my gloves."

"I made you leave in a hurry?" Han looks at Leia incredulously. "I clearly remember Sweetheart that it was you who nearly shoved Chewie and I out of the apartment this afternoon."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you had another cup of coffee and procrastinating this morning." Leia remarks, causing Han to slightly nudge her with his body. The couple begins to chuckle as they walk to the car, for the first time in a long time they were finally content and in control of their lives.


End file.
